weather safety?

[lesspayne]

Uhhhh....
Thats 2.5 deaths a year.

How do you only half die? Is that like a coma....

[nu2hike]

I recently did a 65 mile hike on the AT! (Georgia section completed)
On my second nite out I decided to hike about 10 miles to one of two possible camp sites listed on my trail guide! As the day progressed the skies continued to darken so that when I arrived at the first camp site I decided to pass it by as it was on top of a ridge and I feared hanging there in the storm that was surely coming!
The next site was in a gap and I decided that would be the safer choice! Unfortunately when I reached that camp site the only two trees available to hang from were directly under not one but two huge dead trees! So I pushed on feeling confident that I would surely find a suitable place to hand for the night! After all I was in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees! Well long story short I couldn't find any place to hang that was not either on a ridge near rock outcropings, under dead trees or within a sea of poison ivy!
The skies opened up and I hiked through one of the worse storms I've ever encountered in the woods! The rain was coming down so hard that it was difficult to see! The trail was a river and footing precarious!Of course the temperature dropped with the onset of the storm and by the time I made it to the next shelter I was starting to shiver! I quickly set up my tarp and hammock, got into some dry clothes and quickly fell asleep listening to the rain pounding on my tarp! Those last 3 1/2 miles felt like the longest I ever hiked!
Being caught in a storm in the woods can be a very frightening experience ! No one knows when tragedy may strike! I can only hope that by good site selection and using good common sense I can at least minimize those risk! That and a whole lot of luck!

[Hawk-eye]

The closest I've ever come to pee'n me-self was rock climbing on Looking Glass Rock back in the late 70's. We were on the second pitch of the Nose Route when a huge summer storm just popped over the ridge to our north. We barely had time to climb out horizontal to our position and hang the sling of metal gear and scramble back to sit on our second rope, put on rain gear and hunker down. Lightening hit on top of Looking Glass twice. But we survived and didn't end up with "warm wet" pants!

I avoid ridge lines and do try to select the smaller (height wise) trees in my area for stringing my hammock if a bad one looks like it will visit the area. That's not a guarantee but like Shug has made clear ... sometimes you just need to hunker down and watch the show!

Actually widow makers and dead trees worry me more than bad storms on the whole.

[rcurry]

Thanks for the link on lightning safety Chug. That type of information is what I was interested in.
I simply wanted to discuss safety options and actions when out camping or paddling and an unexpected severe lightning storm pops up.
Those who offered real life experiences, thanks! Very helpful and interesting!

As for all the other things in this big old world that may kill or harm us, they indeed exist, no argument there. But the topic of this particular discussion was merely lightning safety and not about every car trip is an opportunity to die.


Our farm has been in my family since the 1930’s and has a history of destructive lightning hits. We actually built our new home in the woods on the farm about 12 years ago and have had 2 tree strikes within 20 feet of our home that did damage inside the house. The straight line winds severely scarred the land immediately around our home by wiping out 30 old growth trees. About five years prior to this my brothers’ home, which is on the same farm, had a direct hit on his huge chimney. We saw, heard and felt the percussion of that hit. That strike sent bricks flying over 150 feet in his yard. It fried more electronics and wiring inside than I care to remember. The chimney had to be rebuilt. I was dealing with the insurance company and repairs and replacement for at least year on his behalf. I have lost one calf from a lightning hit, it was ugly. Prior to that incident, back in the 70’s the milking barn was destroyed by lightning when it was struck and burned to the ground. Several calves and barn cats were killed inside the barn (fire). I was a kid back then and remember the after effects.

Am I paranoid about weather events? Maybe. I like to think I am cautious and attempt to make informed decisions. When things don’t go as expected I like to find the safest alternative. The people I convince to give paddling or camping a try need to be able to trust me to have their safety and best interest at heart... and I do

[SilvrSurfr]

Rcurry, I grew up on a farm in South Alabama and have seen some of the things you describe. Lightning is scary. There was nothing worse than working in the field when a thunderstorm rolled in. We would climb into drainage ditches so we weren't exposed to the lightning. Sometimes those ditches would fill up with rain water before the lightning threat went by. Waiting for the storm to pass was excruciating.

We had our chimney blown off by lightning, and another time a lightning bolt fried my dog and her puppies as they slept under the porch. The National Weather Service says, "No place OUTSIDE is safe in or near a thunderstorm. Stop what you are doing and get to a safe place immediately." By safe place, they mean a building, but as you and I know, buildings aren't exactly safe either.

If you take their advice literally, then you would never go backpacking anywhere that wasn't 15 minutes from a "substantive building" or car. That would kind of defeat my purpose of getting out in the woods, 'cause I'm trying to get away from substantive buildings and cars.

I have several hiking buddies who simply will not go hiking if thunder and lightning is forecast (needless to say, they don't get out much). They are being extra cautious, and I understand that. Meanwhile, I leave them behind, hike solo, and enjoy the show. Staying home is just not an option for me, so I take my chances.

[canoebie]

I have lost two friends to lightning strikes. I take it seriously. However, it does not cause me to be unreasonably afraid (all a matter of perspective) and I take what I consider reasonable precautions.

When I am guiding groups, I tell them all that the safest thing to do is to spread apart, get on the balls of your feet on the foam pad provided. They all run to their tents and lay on their beds and take a nap.

I try to camp in trees of a similar height, stay away from metal stuff, stay away from water and use common sense. Perhaps it is just silly, but I do feel safer in a hammock than I ever did on the ground in a tent surrounded by metal poles.

[PTAaron]

A lot of good info in here - I'm going to have to go back and watch the videos when I get home.
Nothing useful to add... other than that the coolest storm story I have happened when I was coming back in from a scuba trip when the dive boat had to slow down so we didn't catch up to the huge thunderstorm heading directly to our landing site about 2 miles ahead of us. Nothing like being in clear blue skies and watching a massive black cloud moving at the same speed a few miles ahead of you with lightning bolts coming out of it toward the water.

[rcurry]

On 8/21/13 the area of Kentucky I live in had beautiful weather in the morning with a 30% chance of possible pop up rain showers after noon. I had my kayak ready to head out to Green River Lake and the upper Green River. My DIY tablecloth hammock was packed and ready to go along for my lunch time break. My regular routine is to paddle in every nook and cranny to view wildlife and lengthen the trip, but the entire trip out and back is only about 5 miles if I stay on track and out of the nooks. When I arrived at my lunch time destination there was an audible rumble coming from the East so I decided to skip hanging my hammock, eat my crackers and tuna in my boat then head back to the truck.

I have come to the conclusion that those pop up rain showers can escalate quickly into downpours. Ok, I can handle the rain. After all I wore my usual summer uniform of swimsuit and wrap just so I can get a little swimming in.
What I can’t handle is when another pop up is coming in from the West causing a very noticeable head wind…and then the two pop ups meet about ¼ of a mile from my take out. Rain & headwinds were nothing I couldn’t deal with. There was a tiny island ¼ mile from my truck so I slipped underneath some smaller sized trees for use as a natural umbrella. That worked fine for the first 10 minutes of simple rain. Then things became quite a bit more intense when the real downpour started and along with it came lightning and lots of it. It was a horrible situation for me.
If you read earlier in this thread you will see the reference I made about being twitchy nervous about lightning. I called my husband at his office to make a plea for him to check to see if this storm was going to continue to escalate or decrease in severity in that area. He heard the panic in my voice and I have no lie to tell, I was scared about being toast by way of lightning.

That same day two men were killed and three more were hurt in Franklin Kentucky from lightning.

[tammons]

I survived a nasty lightning storm on MT close to Estes park in Colo 1978 or so at about 12k and it was a harrowing experience. Even got hypothermia to go along with it - LOL.

Mother Nature can be a #$&@*.

Fact is if you are unfortunate enough to live in S. Florida you are more likely to get hit by lighting in the parking lot walking to the grocery store than on a hike on say the AT.

A guy I work was struck by lighting walking to class.

Also have another friend whose grandfather lived in Maine and was hit by lighting 3 times, one time in his house. He was a lighting attractor or something like that.

[FLRider]

For me, it's about risk management.

If it's going to lightning storm (not unusual for this portion of the country; FL has more lightning deaths per year on average than any other state), I do what the document suggests: avoid open ground as much as possible, avoid emergent trees, and get into the lightning position if I believe strikes are getting close. This also goes back to my shelter site selection: pick lower, non-emergent trees among stands that are approximately the same height or higher than the trees I pick. That also helps with avoiding widowmakers, as it's easier to see 'em in smaller, shorter trees than it is with taller, broader ones.

But, honestly, the likelihood of being struck by lightning is fairly low if basic common sense is followed. My concerns out on the trail are generally weather-related, yes, but more geared towards temperature effects than lightning systems. Heat exhaustion and dehydration are more common here in the southeast than lightning strikes, and hypothermia is more common throughout the country when the temps drop below 70* F (especially when wet). So, those are my primary weather concerns on the trail, as they can sneak up on one without much notice (the first thing to go is judgement).

Anyway, that's my opinion. HYOH, and SYOWS (Survive Your Own Weather System).