The summer thunderstorm is great theater. Lightning seems like it might have been hurled by the hand of an angry god. If it’s close, we’re treated to the sharp crack of thunder that makes us jump and the dog hide. And if it’s far away, there’s that heavy kettledrum rumble. The wind whips through. The rain comes in a frenzy. And when it’s all over and the storm has passed, we’re often treated to some of the season’s most delectable weather.
Of course, all this presumes a view of the proceedings from somewhere indoors. Being outside, with the thunder and lightning, can be perilous — and very, very wet.
Learn about the health hazards of lightning:
What is lightning?
Lightning strikes occur because the bottom part of a thundercloud acquires a negative charge relative to objects on the ground. Downward “leaders” from the charged clouds carve out columns of heated, charged particles in the air. These leaders get longer and longer, until their tips are within 30 to 50 yards of the ground. When a connection is finally made to the positively charged ground, or an object on the ground, a huge amount of current flows out of the cloud — and in a flash, there’s a lightning strike.
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How dangerous is lightning?
One of the many misconceptions about getting hit by lightning is that it’s inevitably fatal. In fact, most people live to tell the tale. On average, about 60 Americans die each year from lightning strikes, but four to five times as many survive, although the injuries can be quite serious.
Another myth is that people burst into flames or, at the very least, get severely burned by lightning. In truth, there’s a “flashover” effect that keeps much of the current outside the body. Moisture on the skin may vaporize instantaneously, leaving behind first- and second-degree burns. Sometimes clothes and shoes get blown off, so the person is left nearly naked. But the flashover effect is also a lifesaver and makes deep tissue burns from lightning a rarity. Cardiac arrest, not burns, is the most common cause of death from lightning, because the electricity scrambles the electrical system of the heart.
A lightning storm moves over the metro Phoenix area of Arizona during the 2015 monsoon season. The blue hues of the lightning are from the white balance setting. The orange glow in the clouds is from the street lights of Phoenix shining up into the bottom of the storm.
We also tend to have the mistaken idea that the only danger is from a direct strike. The massive current from a lightning strike can travel through the ground and, seeking the path of least resistance, travel through a person standing nearby. People also get hurt by “splashes” of lightning. Lightning can splash from one person to another and from a tree to a person.
Survivors of lightning-related injuries may end up with an assortment of neurological and eye problems. Many victims experience bad, unrelenting headaches for several months.
Lower your chances of being struck
The chances of any one of us getting injured by lightning during our lives is vanishingly small. But if you’re outside when a storm comes through, you want to make a small chance even smaller. Here are five suggestions on lightning safety from Harvard Drs. Medley O’Keefe Gatewood and Richard Zane:
Seek shelter in a car or bus
If a car or bus gets hit, the electrical current stays on the outside of the metal shell of the vehicle. Rubber tires have nothing to do with the protection.
Seek shelter in a large structure
Small buildings, such as bus shelters or huts on golf courses, may actually increase the risk of lightning injury if they are the tallest objects in an area. Tents may also be a danger because the metal poles could act as lightning rods.
Stay away from clearings and single trees
If you are in the woods, don’t head for a clearing because you’ll be the tallest object. Take cover in an area with small trees or bushes. And if you’re in an open area, don’t stand near an isolated tree or group of trees that could attract a strike. Instead, find a low-lying area and assume the “lightning position”: squatting with feet together and hands over the ears to protect against acoustic trauma. Gatewood and Zane said kneeling or sitting cross-legged would also be OK, since squatting can be uncomfortable.
Don’t wait until the clouds are overhead
Lightning can travel horizontally 10 miles or more in front of the storm clouds producing rain, so a strike can seem to come, literally, out of the clear blue sky. One rule of thumb is to seek shelter when the time between seeing lightning and hearing thunder is 30 seconds or less. Another one is not to resume outdoor activities until 30 minutes after the last lightning is seen or thunder heard.
Avoid faucets and landline telephones during a storm
Plumbing and telephone wires can carry current from a lightning strike. If you want to be super cautious, you should turn off electrical appliances and devices like computers before the brunt of the storm arrives.
What to do if you see someone get struck by lightning
Follow these four steps immediately to help save the life of a person who has been struck by lightning:
Call for help
Call 911 immediately. Give directions to your location and information about the person. It is safe to use a cellphone or cordless phone during a storm.
Assess the situation
Be aware of the continued lightning danger to both the person who has been struck and the rescuer. If located in a high-risk area (near an isolated tree or in an open field), you could be in danger. If necessary, move to a safer location. People who have been struck by lightning do not carry an electrical charge and can be handled safely. It is unusual for a person who has survived a lightning strike to have any major broken bones that would cause paralysis or major bleeding complications. Therefore, it might be safe to move the victim to reduce the risk of further exposure to lightning.
Respond
Lightning often causes a heart attack. Check to see if the person is breathing and has a heartbeat. The best places to check for a pulse are the carotid artery in the neck and the femoral artery in the groin. If the person is breathing normally, look for other possible injuries. Lightning can cause burns, shock and sometimes blunt trauma. Treat each of these injuries with basic first aid until help arrives.
Resuscitate
If the person is not breathing, immediately begin mouth-to-mouth rescue breaths. If they do not have a pulse, start CPR.
Photos: See tornadoes' deadly destruction over the years
June 8, 1984: Barneveld, Wisconsin
As dawn broke on June 8, 1984, rescuers got their first view of a destroyed Barneveld in Wisconsin. An F5 tornado ripped through the village, killing nine people and destroying most of the small community. The powerful tornado had winds over 300 mph.
May 22, 2011: Joplin, Missouri
In this May 25, 2011, photo, Beverly Winans hugs her daughter Debbie Surlin while salvaging items from Winans' devastated home in Joplin, Missouri. The deadliest tornado to hit the United States in the last several decades struck on May 22, 2011, leveling a miles-wide swath of Joplin and leaving 161 people dead.
April 2011: Southeastern U.S.
Tuscaloosa Fire Lt. Brian Phillips climbs a pile of rubble in search of survivors or bodies at an apartment building in Tuscaloosa, Ala., after 362 tornadoes hit the southeastern United States over three days in April 2011, killing an estimated 321 people. Alabama was the hardest hit, with a death toll of more than 250 in that state alone.
Feb. 5, 2008: 'Super Tuesday' outbreak
New cars and trucks at a Chevrolet dealership sit under the wreckage from a tornado that hit Mountain View, Ark., on Feb. 5, 2008. The so-called Super Tuesday outbreak of 87 tornadoes in the southeastern United States killed 57 people.
April 2014: Southeast and Midwest
An American flag waves from a makeshift flag pole in front of a concrete slab that once was a house in Louisville, Miss., after an April 28, 2014, tornado destroyed the house. An outbreak of dozens of tornadoes, stirred up by a powerful storm system, hit the Southeast and Midwest over a three-day period in April 2014 and killed 32 people in Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
May 20, 2013: Moore, Oklahoma
A tornado killed 24 people on May 20, 2013, in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado had winds over 200 miles per hour, giving it the most severe rating of EF-5.
March 18, 1925: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana
This March 1925 photo shows an overturned house that was carried more than 50 feet from its foundation following a tornado in Griffen, Ind. The March 18 tornadoes that hit Missouri, Illinois and Indiana killed nearly 700 people, topping the list of the deadliest tornadoes in the United States.
May 11, 1953: Waco, Texas
Bolstered by heavy equipment, workers start the gigantic task of cleaning up wreckage remaining in the downtown area of Waco, Texas, in the aftermath of a May 11, 1953, tornado. It was one of the top 10 deadliest tornadoes in U.S. history, killing 114 people.
Nov. 6, 2005: Evansville, Indiana
As others stand intact, debris from destroyed mobile homes litter the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park in the aftermath of a tornado in Evansville, Ind., on Nov. 6, 2005. The tornado ripped across southwestern Indiana and northern Kentucky, causing 20 deaths, wrecking homes and knocking out power to thousands.
May 10, 2008: Southwest Missouri
A vehicle was dumped along highway 86 north of Racine, Mo., by a tornado that hit the area in southwest Missouri on May 10, 2008. Fourteen people were killed and hundreds injured in the tornado.
May 25, 2008: Iowa
The first floor of a house is all that remains on Sept. 8, 2008, in Parkersburg, Iowa, more than three months after a May 25 tornado that destroyed and damaged hundreds of homes in the area and left nine people dead.
Feb. 29, 2012: Illinois
Family members and friends try to salvage what they can on Feb. 29, 2012, in Harrisburg, Ill., after a tornado destroyed their neighborhood homes. The devastating EF4 tornado claimed eight lives.
Feb. 11, 2009: Oklahoma
Three-year-old Brooklyn Hickman helps look through the rubble of her grandfather's trailer home in Lone Grove, Okla., on Feb. 11, 2009, after a tornado struck, killing eight people. Weather woes including an unusual series of February twisters were among the top Oklahoma news stories of that year.
April 28, 2011: Virginia
Downed traffic lights are seen after an EF3 tornado struck on April 28, 2011, in Glade Spring, Va. Three people were killed, and several homes and truck stops along I-81 were severely damaged.
May 1955: Udall, Kansas
Photos of destruction from the 1955 tornado that destroyed Udall, Kan., are displayed in the town's museum. The May 1955 tornado is among the top 25 deadliest in U.S. history, killing 80 people.
March 2, 2012: Indiana
People clear debris from a farm field on the outskirts of Marysville, Ind., after a tornado with 150 mph winds raked through the southern Indiana hamlet on March 2, 2012. The storm was part of a tornado outbreak that left 13 people dead in southern Indiana.
October 2013: Nebraska
Several buildings sit damaged Oct. 5, 2013, in Wayne, Neb., after a deadly storm system that buried parts of Wyoming and South Dakota in heavy, wet snow also brought powerful thunderstorms packing tornadoes to the Great Plains, causing millions of dollars in damage. Some of the greatest damage from tornadoes was in Wayne, a town of 9,600.
May 4, 2003: Missouri
Steve Jones lifts his grandfather's headstone into place at the Stockton City Cemetery in Stockton, Mo., after most of the headstones and nearly all the trees in the cemetery were knocked over by a May 4, 2003, tornado that killed five people.
June 11, 2008: Iowa
Remains of a ranger's house can be seen after a tornado ripped through the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in the remote Loess Hills, Iowa, on June 11, 2008. The EF3 tornado killed four people.
July 8, 2014: Upstate New York
People sort through debris of a destroyed house after a July 8, 2014, storm, in Smithfield, N.Y. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado destroyed homes in upstate New York where four people were killed.
Dec. 10-11, 2021: Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio Valley, southern US
An overturned tree sits in front of a tornado-damaged home Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Ky. On Dec. 10-11, violent and rare December tornadoes ripped across Kentucky and several other states. Kentucky’s death toll alone from the storms is now 80. All together, the storms killed more than 90 people in five states. The National Weather Service recorded at least 41 tornadoes on Dec. 10 and 11, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, eight states — Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio and Indiana — reported tornadoes.
