protection from lightning

Surface
If lightning hits water, it apparently tends to spread across the surface, reaching out over a wide area. When lightning hits a tree, it tends to go straight to the ground, through roots, or nearby objects. We had a local swimmer killed by lightning last year when lightning hit the water about 10 miles in front of a storm system.



So, my preference is to be off the water and if lightning happens to hit right where I’m standing, it was just my day to go. If I stay on the water, lightning might hit hundreds of feet away and still reach over to where I am as it travels over the surface looking for that path of least resistance.



I’ve never heard of a local paddlers getting hit by any type of lightning, but I don’t want to be the first.



Every now and then you get a pop up thunderstorm and there just isn’t a good spot to toake out and at that point you just have to look around and see what option makes the most sense to you, but it’s not a good feeling when you can’t get out a full “One-Mississippi” before the thunder sounds.

good question
That raises an interesting question. Has anyone ever heard of a canoeist or kayaker being hit by lightning when they were on the water? I’ve heard of lots of sailboat masts being hit but never personally heard of a paddler being hit when on the water.

Yes, a kayaker took a near-hit on the
Hiwassee. Friends of mine were cowering on exposed rocks on the Chattooga, and were lightly zapped by a strike nearby. But in my 35+ years of canoeing, verifiable reports of people zapped on the rivers are rare.



That’s why I say, NOAA is focused on the finite possibility that people may be outside and take a direct strike. They say, go indoors instead, and no one can argue with that. If you put maximum priority on not taking the big lightning hit that will kill or maim you, get indoors, stay indoors.



But NOAA does not admit that the chance of a direct hit is low. It isn’t irrational to be enjoying the outdoors in a thunderstorm. It’s even kind of exciting.

Yes
The high likelihood of afternoon thunderstorms in July and August would make me (1) paddle early in the day and (2) stick close to shore for a hasty retreat if I’m out in the afternoon.



I wouldn’t cancel my plans, but I would definitely modify them.








My Tilley Hat has the optional
Faraday cage.



I paddle with impunity.



Jim

trees falling …
… once out on Lake Redman early in the morning , mist just lifting , we heard this loud cracking sound that drew our attention . We couldn’t see the tree that was falling but the fall sounded long as it was takimg a number of branches from trees close to it . Very loud echoing down into the lake area . The falling tree was on a pretty steep hillside .



Back about 71 give or take a year , a young couple from G.B. high school were in Patapsaco (swinging bridge area) and a tree fell and killed him . They were friends of the girl I was dating who became my wife later .



hey Chip , we were up on the C&O in Hancock on the 4th . I’m guessing you were asleep in a tent when the storm rolled through . When a storm wakes me up while camping , I just roll over and go back to sleep , what else can you do ?? Having a tree 50’ or so away fall while drinking morning coffee would be an interesting start to the day !!


Lightning strike probabilities
There seem to be a lot of comments blaming NOAA for “overreacting” to lightning, but their “fear-mongering” is justified. I’m a meteorologist, so this is one topic that I actually know something about (unlike most others). The reason why the probability of being struck by lightning appears to be low is because the vast majority of the population is not outside when severe storms occur. If everyone ran outside when a severe storm is occurring, you’d find that the chances of being struck are a lot higher than you think. Most people are sane enough to stay indoors when severe weather occurs. The reason why few paddlers get struck is because not many people go paddling when there is a strong chance for storms. Of course you can, especially in the South, get caught in an afternoon quickie thunderstorm, but these are rarely severe thunderstorms, and tend to last for a very short duration. The big frontal severe storms are well-forecasted and people generally stay inside those days, especially if you have outdoor plans.



If you’re out on the water when a severe thunderstorm is approaching or lightning has struck nearby, get to the shore as quickly as possible, unless it’s just rock outcrops or barren sandy beach. If so, then you’re simply in the position of hoping you don’t get struck.

This is a classic problem
and this is a cogent comment. At the individual level, the question of how likely YOU are to be struck by lightning comes down to what the environmental circumstances are that increase or decrease your “chances”. What can you do to decrease your chances in the circumstances you are in? You cannot derive those statistics from aggregate statistics. That is a well known statistical fallacy. But you can get a handle on it by analyzing the physical processes involved. So “exposure” may be important for aggregate statistics but useless for individual fate.

Waiting it out in wet wetsuits
I’ve gotten out of the kayak only to wonder if standing around in wet clothing is riskier than changing out of the wet wetsuit.



If I were done for the day, this question would not occur to me; I’d change and drive home. But if I’m merely waiting for what looks like the last storm cell to pass and will get back on the water after that, should I be standing on…oh, I dunno, maybe my PFD? The picnic tables nearby are vinyl-coated steel.

I see your logic, cave demon, but don’t
agree with your contention that there are so few paddlers out during thunderstorms that no one gets struck.



In fact, summer thunderstorms ride over the Ocoee, the Hiwassee, the Nantahala, the Tuck, and the Pigeon when there are very large numbers of people on the water. Raft services don’t cancel trips because of the possibility of thunderstorms. Private boaters don’t stay home because thunderstorms may come up in the afternoon.



In my 35 years of being in close touch with what happens on these rivers, I know of only one incident where a WW kayaker was stunned by a near miss on the Hiwassee.



I guess if you had any actual statistics, you’d provide them. But don’t argue from the supposed rarity of exposure. There’s plenty of people out on the water during thunderstorms, and given that, the low rate of actual strikes stands in sharp contrast to NOAA’s nanny advice.

“large” is relative
There are very large numbers of paddlers (who are a small percentage of the population) in a relatively small and low population density area. The sum total is a ‘relatively’ low number of people, hence the relatively low number of people struck by lightning.



Companies don’t cancel trips, and private boaters might not stay home, if there is a possibility of a thunderstorm. HOWEVER, when there IS a thunderstorm people seek shelter. Most get off of the water when a thunderstorm is happening in close proximity.


“large” is relative
There are very large numbers of paddlers (who are a small percentage of the population) in a relatively small and low population density area. The sum total is a ‘relatively’ low number of people, hence the relatively low number of people struck by lightning.



Companies don’t cancel trips, and private boaters might not stay home, if there is a possibility of a thunderstorm. HOWEVER, when there IS a thunderstorm people seek shelter. Most get off of the water when a thunderstorm is happening in close proximity.


which of you is the meteorologist?

dude, you’re obsessing hopelessly

– Last Updated: Jul-11-11 3:33 PM EST –

The OP was regarding what to do if caught out by lightning while p[addling. The NOAA link provided by dr. disco provides advice on what to do in various situations in a lightning storm. The stats are but a tiny piece. Additionally, the link says quite clearly that in the event of a storm there is very little we can do. But they do have a liability concern.
Your obsessing over the precision of the stats does nothing to answer the question, which I certainly wouldn't say of the NOAA link. You're diluting the topic. Instead of derailing a thread, how about starting with a more relevant post?

People vs. Other lightning targets
First of all, if I read the literature correctly, getting off the water is only an effective deterrent to lightning strike if you get into a substantial structure or enclosed vehicle. Just getting off the water may change your small odds of getting hit, but does not eliminate the risk.



Secondly, I was thinking about this thread the other day while paddling on the Magothy River (Chesapeake trib). There are hundreds of objects sticking out of the water, from pier pilings to trees to derelict boats to random poles. Are they not as attractive a target to lightning as a human? If a kayaker, a 3’ bump on the water, is a prime target, why are all those 10’ targets out there year after year, storm after storm?



Don’t get me wrong. I am scared of lightning and hate to be stuck on the water in a storm. I do not advocate paddling through lightning storms. But why isn’t that other stuff getting zapped all the time, or is it zapped and just doesn’t show any sign of it?



~~Chip

Advice from lightning photographer
http://strikeone.com.au/avoid/avoid.htm

Voltage Gradient
You don’t have to get hit by lightning to get hurt by it.

A lightning bolt is a big static shock. Millions of volts. When it strikes a tree or other object that voltage dissipates to ground through what ever is around it.

At the strike that voltage will be very high. Moving away from the strike the voltage drops. Depending on the conductivity of the media, whether that is earth or rock or water or roots or whatever the voltage will drop faster or slower. There can be a potential of thousands of volts between a few inches of ground. More between the ground and water or the ground and rocks or the ground and roots.

So if you are standing with your feet a foot apart, or with your back against a tree, or one foot on ledge and the other in the water you may be exposed to that very high voltage if lightning strikes nearby.

So if it’s striking all around you, keep your feet together on one medium and minimise your contact with the ground.

In a near miss that might improve your chances.

boats
Boats do get hit by lightning often. I personally know a handful of people whose larger sail and motor boats have been struck by lightening. It really screws things up too. A direct strike can destroy all the electronics on board. A work boat that just got hit here sustained over $15,000 in damage to the electronics. Ouch.

We have been caught several times
in lightning storms in the middle of areas where there is no getting away from it, and the worse case I can remember was on the Nine Mile Pond canoe trail in the Everglades National Park.

We were several miles from the take out and in the middle of water and grass.

We enjoyed the show, and figured if the Man upstairs wanted us he would get us when He deemed the time was right!



Jack L

Thanks
For the reasonable response.



Seriously.