When there is no shelter that you can go to....
When you feel that you are really in trouble with a thunderstorm....
....you are caught in a thunderstorm, lightning seems to be striking all around you, and there is no shelter?
....you and a friend are outside someplace, and your skin and hair feel prickly or you see your friend's hair start to stand up and form a halo?
....your "flash to bang" count (see my flash to bang page) is very short, and there is no shelter anywhere near you?
You may have heard that if you can't find a shelter, you should lie down flat on your stomach. Well, doing that is NOT safe at all. If lightning hits someplace near you and travels through the ground, it could pass through your whole body and electrocute you.
Lightning safety experts have invented a "lightning crouch" that is very important to know about if you are caught in a thunder storm and you can't find a shelter. If you think that this position looks hard to do, you are right. It is. So practice it until you can stay in it for several minutes, because it could save your life. There are several reasons for doing the lightning crouch.
With lightning, you may have some hard choices to make. There are no guarantees when it comes to lightning safety. If you are in a thunder storm, should you stay in the lightning crouch or
should you run and try to find shelter? I suggest that you talk about this with your family and teachers. Visit some of the professional lightning safety links on my main lightning safety page.
Also, remember that although this page talks about what to do when lightning is close by and
there is no shelter, you can also be in danger when lightning seems to be far away and you
think that the storm is over. You can still be hit, even then (I was).
The lightning crouch used to be called the "lightning safety position," but lightning experts changed the name, because it is not completely safe. When you hear thunder or see lightning, it is important to find shelter. The lightning crouch is only something to do when you have no other choices.
Be sure to visit the Flash to Bang page before you leave this web site.
- With your heels together, if lightning hits the ground, electricity goes through the closest foot, up
to your heel and then transfers to the other heel and then goes back to the ground again. If you
don't put your heels together, lightning could go through your heart and possibly kill you.
- You put your hands over your ears to protect them from thunder.
[Image (c)2001 Anubis Productions
The lightning crouch is not as easy to do as it looks. If you have a back pack on, like in the picture, you might want to slip it off. I suggest that you practice doing it with your family, friends and teachers. You can make a game of seeing who can stay in
it the longest without falling over.
and Marian Hyuk Grossi]
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on my main lightning safety page that you came from.
The following link will take you to the top of the lightning page. 