If you’ve ever found yourself running in a lightning storm, you may have wondered what you should do to stay safe. Crouch low in an open field? Duck under a shelter? Or keep running?
Know that there’s an average of 54 reported deaths due to lightning each year, and hundreds of people are permanently injured after becoming struck. Injured folks may suffer long-term symptoms like memory loss, attention deficits, stiff joints, irritability, fatigue, weakness, muscle spasms, depression, and more.
Getting struck directly by lightning—or other forms, like the ground current created by a strike—is something to take very seriously. The old recommendation of crouching down into a “lightning squat”—reducing oneself to the size of a child—has changed after not proving to provide much safety. We asked John Jensenius, Lightning Safety Specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, about how a runner can stay safe in a storm, and here’s what he had to say:
1. “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors.” NOAA strongly recommends avoidance, because there isn’t much you can do when you’re already out in a storm. So, when you’re planning a run, listen to the forecast, look online at the radar and take advantage of times of the day when lightning is less likely.
Watch the sky for first signs of a developing thunderstorm. The sound of thunder is a sign the storm is close enough to strike you. Stay inside until 30 minutes after the last sign of lightning or thunder.
2. Get to a safe place. If you are caught in a thunder and lightning storm, the best thing to do is to get to a safe place—inside a car, or substantial building—as soon as you can. In most cases, that means keep running to get out of the storm.
Seek out a hard-topped metal vehicle, or a substantial building. If lighting strikes a car, the electricity passes through the outer shell of the car and doesn’t significantly harm the people inside. Being safe in a car has nothing to do with the fact that it has rubber tires.
If you’re far from a car or building on a long run, squatting should only be used in desperation because it’s fairly insignificant in reducing the risk.
3. Do not… If you’re caught running in a storm, you increase your risk of danger by taking shelter under a tall or isolated tree. Being the tallest object in the area more makes you a threat to be a direct strike.
And since a ground current kills or injures more people than a direct strike, it’s best just to stay indoors during a sign of a thunderstorm.
- A side flash (lightning strikes taller object and part of current jumps to the victim, which is why you shouldn’t take shelter under a tree)
- A ground current (lightning strikes nearby, travels through the ground, and enters the body at the contact point closest to the lightning strike, travels through cardiovascular and/or nervous systems and exits the body at the contact point farthest from the lightning…the most common among deaths and injuries)
- Conduction (lightning travels a long distance on something metal, which doesn’t attract lightning, but does allow it to travel…Don’t touch metal indoors that extends outside, like plumbing or electrical outlets during a lightning storm).
5. If struck… If you or someone near you is struck by any form of lightning, call 911. CPR and Automated External Defibrillators are used to treat lightning victims.
Editor's note: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was misidentified in a previous version of this article. The name has been corrected.
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