Lightning safety: When thunder roars, go indoors!

Most people have a healthy fear of tornadoes, but don’t give lightning a second thought.

In reality, lightning is extremely dangerous. Remember the phrase: “WHEN THUNDER ROARS, GO INDOORS!”
What You Need to Know:
 NO PLACE outside is safe when thunderstorms are in the area!
 If you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you.
 When you hear thunder, immediately move to safe shelter: a substantial building or an
enclosed, metal-topped vehicle with windows up. Rubber tires aren’t why you’re safe in a car
during a lightning storm. You’re safe in a car because the lightning will travel around the surface
of the vehicle and then go to ground.
 Stay in safe shelter at least 30 minutes after you hear the last sound of thunder.
 Stay away from corded phones, computers, televisions, and other electrical equipment that put
you in direct contact with electricity.
 Avoid water and plumbing: sinks, baths, and faucets – lightning can travel through a building’s
plumbing.
 Stay away from windows and doors, and stay off porches.
 Do not lie on concrete floors, and do not lean against concrete walls – lightning can travel
through any metal wires or bars in concrete floors and walls.
 Do not stay in open vehicles such as: convertibles, motorcycles, and golf carts.
 Do not stay in open structures such as: porches, gazebos, baseball dugouts, picnic shelters, and
sports arenas.
 Stay away from open spaces such as: golf courses, parks, playgrounds, ponds, lakes, swimming
pools, and beaches.
Last Resort Outdoor Risk Reduction Tips
If you are caught outside with no safe shelter anywhere nearby the following actions may reduce your
risk:
 Immediately get off elevated areas such as hills, mountain ridges, or peaks.
 Never lie flat on the ground.
 Never shelter under an isolated tree.
 Never use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
 Immediately get out and away from ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water.
 Stay away from objects that conduct electricity such as: barbed wire fences, power lines,
windmills, bleachers, radio towers, etc.
For mor information, call Paula Cain, Emergency Management Director, at (580) 767-0380.