A couple of weeks ago I posted an article on some suggested teaching ideas to fill a couple hours if you find yourself stuck on shore waiting out a thunderstorm.

Last week, gnarlydog asked a very interesting question, “What would you do if you find yourself stuck offshore during a thunderstorm?”

Good question. I had to give it some thought, the first thing that came to me was, well…get to shore and if you can’t what are you doing out there in the first place, especially with a class of students? Of course life isn’t cut and dry like that and sometimes it doesn’t go as planned.

So what do you do? Probably the best piece of advice is to plan ahead and use your head. You should know your local weather patterns enough to determine the most likely chances of getting hit by lightening and the types of weather conditions that will lead to a thunderstorm in your area. By understanding that information, your chances of getting surprised by a storm can by dramatically reduced.

Using your head is key but there is also technology that you can take advantage of. If you find yourself in the time of year where you are more likely to get caught out in a thunderstorm (In North America it’s basically May through to September), make sure that you bring along a VHF radio or a waterproof weather radio. It will allow you to keep tabs on local weather systems in your area. Some radios have an extreme weather warning feature that will send out an audio warning automatically if there is a chance of severe weather in your area.

Another tool you might want to look into is a lightening detector. I only recently stumbled upon them and look very interesting. Lightening detectors have been around for many years in the professional meteorological world but small portable units have recently been introduced for outdoor workers who are more focused on doing their job than looking up at the sky.

About the size of a pager, lightening detectors are able to sense a lightning strike up to 40 miles away. They work by sensing the electronic magnetic pulse that is emitted when a strike hits the earth.

All the models that I looked at are very simple to operate. An audible alarm sounds and a corresponding LED light illuminates accordingly, as lightning strikes at distances of within 6 miles, 6 to 12 miles, 12 to 24 miles and 24 to 40 miles.

The role of a lightening detectors is not to predict when or if a strike will occur. It only measures strike distances after they happen. Because it is (in theory) able to measure strikes from a long distance; it will enable you to track a storm as it moves into your area.

The thing to keep in mind with detectors is that they can be easily fooled by outside magnetic interference. Fluorescent bulbs, computer monitors will cause them to give inaccurate readings so be aware.

They are a very interesting tool that but like other electronic items, you wouldn’t want to depended on it 100%. You still need to use your head especially if you are in any type of leadership role with children or adults. On the water, you need to always error on the side of caution when it comes to weather.

Like anything else, there is a wide varity of prices and features. Amazon sells them and price ranges are between $65 and $540.

This goes back to my first question. What happens if you find yourself out on the water with the fingers of God poking down at you? NOAA has this to say about lightning and water:

• Get out of the water, it's a great conductor of electricity.
• Stay off the beach and out of small boats or canoes.
• If caught in a boat, crouch down in the center away from metal hardware.
• Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are NOT safe.
• Lightning can strike the water and travel some distance beneath and away from its point of contact.
• Don't stand in puddles of water.

Since we are in such small craft with nowhere to hide, it’s imperative that you are proactive in getting out of the path of the storm and on shore the second you hear thunder. Remember, if you can hear lightening, you are already well within striking distance.

If you want to keep reading and see what SCUBA divers do during a storm, I found a good article here.

Interested in what a kayak looks like when hit by lightning? Green Wave Forum has a good gallery.

Other good resources:
Thunderstorm Awareness (pdf)
Lightning Risk Reduction Outdoors - When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

Have you got other tips on lightening? Did I make a mistake? Post your comments below.

Flickr Photo Credit: ZaNiaC

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