Another comment… It is up to us as
individuals to decide what to do when thunderstorms are around. The risk of being struck is in a range where it cannot be lightly dismissed, but is not high enough that people will totally avoid being outside. It’s a personal risk/benefit issue.
The NOAA has thrown a fog on this decision by their recommendation that everyone be inside, not in the shower, not on the phone, and not near windows, electrical devices, etc., during an electrical storm. They actually say that we should huddle indoors until 1/2 hour after we hear the last thunder. One must wonder what would happen to the US economy and US life if everyone strictly followed that advice. One might as well recommend that everyone stay out of their cars, and at least a tenth of a mile away from any other cars, lest they have an accident or be struck. In other words, NOAA appears to be calling for a level of risk avoidance unprecidented in American life. Boaters have to make their own decisions, but I think most will conclude that a rich and active boating life means occasionally being in or around thunderstorms.
YOS.
I did see some rainwear at Gander that looks like it is actually rubber coated but didn’t check it out closer. You will still see boots and waders that are rubber coated if you look around. I was lucky enough to be wearing an actual rubber coated police raincoat and rubber boots with the leather uppers when I got hit.
Tom
Not So
(“not possible to predict development of thunderstorms.” Second, if we all could do such a prediction, and could stay home and avoid thunderstorms, we would cancel out about half of our paddling careers. Thunderstorms are a part of everyday life, unlike hurricanes and tornados.)
Not only is it possible to predict T storms, you’d have to be nearly blind or unconscious not to see the clouds building up prior to the discharges. Disregard the signs if you want, when T storms are forecast and I see towering clouds building and the western horizon gets dark as the winds increase, I’ll head for shore.
Sail boats look like
a lightning rod to me and you are right about lightning jumping from the object struck to a nearby object. I have had several cows killed by lightning striking a tree and jumping up to 20 feet to kill the nearby cow.
Lighten Up
He said that it's "often" not possible to predict thunderstorms. Let's say you are out for two or three days, or more. The last weather forecast you heard before leaving is now nearly worthless. Even if you could trust it, are you going to sit tight on the chance that a storm will come by when the odds are that it won't, or are you going to hit the water and see what happens?
Often it is possible to see the clouds billowing up, but not always. Some rivers flow in steep valleys in very hilly country, and in those places you quite likely won't get the chance to see a billowing thunderhead, and once the storm is over you, it's just a gray sky. Of course in that situation, I think you are safer on the river than on shore. Also, during an overcast weather pattern of off-and-on rain, a thunderstorm can catch you on very short notice, as you may not see it approaching in that situation. If you are lucky, there may be some lightning bolts in the distance before it arrives, but if you have the bad luck to be at the location where the storm "peaks", there may be very little warning at all.
Nat’l Lightning Safety Inst. says:
The myth is:
“We should get off the water when boating, canoeing or sailing…”
But the truth is:
“…tall trees and rocky outcrops along shore and on nearby land may be a more dangerous place”
source: http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/ploutdoor.htm
I remember reading somewhere ages ago that transitional zones are the most dangerous places to be: where forest meets field, where water meets shore, etc.
Cool. Didn’t know it was still used.
I wouldn’t want a rubber paddle, though . . . .
;~)
YoS
Informed Action - Then ENJOY!
You certainly CAN predict thunderstorms on the time and spatial scales relevant to boating decisions. Learn how to do it (simply watch-and-learn is a good approach, read some too). I suggest – Always act in an INFORMED manner.
Thunderstorms are a wonderful part of life. However, as a longtime mountaineer knowing two people who have been struck (and lived) I can say – YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. Also, no device, coating, or material will likely help a kayaker should a massive blast of electricity use the boater as its route to earth.
A lone canoe in a vast open lake is just not good idea (for numerous reasons) as a t-storm gathers. Think --- Close-but-not-too-close to far-higher lightning-rod-like objects (cliffs, trees, etc.) helps to shift those odds. Play the odds. You do not want to be the "lone pole" nor do you want to be part of the "biggest nearby pole" (150-feet from a 200-foot cliff makes me think the cliff-top is the likely strike-point relative to me.)
Work those odds intelligently – then make the best decisions you can and enjoy those beautiful storms as others huddle inside.
I should be working
and this is some fantastic information–too good to pass up reading about.
Spending most of my life outside, avoiding thunderstorms by staying inside just is not an option.
I think the message I have gotten the most from this discussion is that we really don’t know a whole lot in terms of where and when lightning will strike; Prediction is a crap-shoot; lightning behavior is bound by principles of ‘ordered chaos’; and that it sucks getting hit by lightning. Finally, playing the odds is literally a cost-benefit analysis: stay inside and be safe (as safe can be during a T-storm) and miss out on some great experiences, or have great experiences at the expense of possibly giving up the ghost to mother nature in a myriad of ways, i.e. lightning.
I have to admit, I love talking about and reading about this stuff. Weather fascinates me. Thanks
I disagree
If you're in a canyon as the OP suggests, it would be darn near impossible to spot coming weather. And you may not even get a weather band signal.
You can listen to and watch the weather on your way to the launch. But altitude changes coupled with climactic changes - something you get in the west - can cause bad weather very, very quickly.
So the most you can do is to stay informed and make good decisions.
Advance notice…
I live near a lake with similar attributes. There can be a 20% chance of rain. The lake is narrow and surrounded by mountains on all sides. It can be sunny and within minutes, you can have a storm. Not like it has been getting a bit of a blow or getting a little cloudy. It is just sunny and 10 minutes later you are getting blown about like a toy in a blender.
Of course it is always prudent to check the days prediction, but that does not tell the whole story here. I have come off this lake 3 times now in 40 years just praying to give me one more shot and Lord I promise to pay better attention next time.
I never check the weather before
I go paddling.
When I decide to go paddling I don’t care what the water level is or what the weather is going to be …but I paddle river and not open water.
I love paddling in the rain and I would’t leave the middle of the river or lake if a thunder storm was coming…I wouldn’t want to miss a great show from the Maker.
Paddlin’ on
Richard
If I get killed by lightning paddling
I hope they have paddles and kayaks in heaven. Maybe there eveyone won’t give me a hard time about not wearing a PFD.
Paddlin’ on
Richard
In heaven they’ll make you wear wings!
Wings I can handle
Thunderstorms aren’t
hard to forecast. Unstable , humid air mass, heat for verticle development, etc. If you are on a large lake (like we have in the west) you should be able to see the sky and as I stated previously, buildups and T storms don’t happen instantly.
T-storms can arise VERY quickly
It's not always possible to avoid them in the summer here. I can remember days when there was literally no cloud in the sky when starting a day paddle but within a few hours a storm would be imminent. Now, if I'm only doing a shortie day paddle of 1 or 2 hrs total it's no big deal. But if I were making a long, committing paddle (long stretches of no place to land), things would be quite different. The first signs of towering cumulonimbus might show when I'm in the middle of such a stretch. I have watched such towering cloudpiles literally bulge out and upward as I watched, as if it were in fast-forward. It wasn't. That's just how fast they can balloon into trouble. Wind can literally go from zippo to screaming banshee within a minute...I've had this happen both on the water and while biking or hiking. Your topography may not have this kind of behavior. Mine sometimes does.
To make things worse, lakes with steep mountains near them do not have a good view of what's brewing. The place I paddled today is a good example. The mountains are so close that huge clouds can be building up to the west but only visible when the storm is very close. I don't know how many times my first indication of a storm about to blow up was a giant cauliflower cloud suddenly looming above the ridgeline. Yet only a couple hours earlier, there were no clouds at all and the air felt dry.
It's easy to say "get off the water quickly", but if you did a long, committing paddle on such a day...Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge both have long sections of vertical cliff with no way to get off the water. And you've probably been awed by the very long cliffy stretches depicted in the various TITS expedition videos. There isn't always a quick way out of a bad situation. To avoid these situations entirely means not going paddling at all.
I'm not saying that t-storms can never be predicted or avoided; usually they can. I'm saying that sometimes they can crop up so violently fast you cannot believe it.