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Thunderstorms and Lightning

Storms can bring a flurry of hazards including heavy rain, high winds, and lightning. They can vary in intensity and pose risks to safety and can cause major property damage. Heavy rains can lead to flooding. High winds are a risk on their own but can also form tornados. Every year, lightning kills approximately 10 Canadians and injures approximately 100 to 150 others.

Prepare your household

Lightning

If you hear thunder, you are within striking distance of lightning. Take shelter immediately and consider these actions to protect yourself:

  • Good places to take shelter include an automobile (with a metal roof), or a grounded building such as a house. Stay sheltered for 30 minutes after the last flash of lightning.
  • While indoors, refrain from using, and preferably unplug electronic equipment such as televisions and computers, as well as appliances, (corded) power tools, or (corded) telephones. Refrain from bathing, showering or washing dishes.
  • If caught outdoors during a thunderstorm, stay away from tall objects such as trees, or any objects or structures that conduct electricity, including metal fences, golf clubs, lawnmowers, bicycles, or umbrellas. Avoid bodies of water.
  • Avoid being the highest point in an open area. Low-lying areas are preferable to hillsides.
  • If lightning strikes nearby (for example if 30 or fewer seconds elapse between the flash of lightning and the thunderclap) when you are outdoors with no suitable place to take shelter, crouch down, putting your feet together with the heels touching, and your hands over your ears to protect against hearing damage.

If caught outdoors:

  • Avoid putting yourself above the surrounding landscape. Seek shelter in low-lying areas such as valleys, ditches and depressions but be aware of flooding.
  • Stay away from water. Don't go boating or swimming if a storm threatens and get to land as quickly as possible if you are already on the water. Lightning can strike the water and travel a substantial distance from its point of contact.
  • Stay away from objects that conduct electricity, such as tractors, golf carts, golf clubs, metal fences, motorcycles, lawnmowers and bicycles.
  • Avoid being the highest point in an open area. Swinging a golf club or holding an umbrella or fishing rod can make you the tallest object and a target for lightning.
  • You are safe inside a car during lightning but be aware of downed power lines which may be touching your car. You are safe inside the car, but you may receive a shock if you step outside.
  • When in a forest, seek shelter in a low-lying area under a thick growth of small trees or bushes.
  • Keep alert for flash floods, sometimes caused by heavy rainfall, if seeking shelter in a ditch or low-lying area.

Indoor precautions:

  • Before the storm hits, disconnect electrical appliances including computers, radios and television sets. Do not touch them during the storm.
  • Don't go outside unless necessary.
  • Keep as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Stay away from windows.
  • Use battery operated or cordless devices only. The electrical current from the lightning strike will travel through wires and cords using the path of least resistance. Electrical current will follow metal pipes and wires until it reaches the ground (or you, if you are connected through them).
  • Working on a plugged-in computer or holding a phone or other devices when they're charging are unsafe practices that should be avoided during lightning storms. Cordless telephones are safe; however, you could hear a very loud noise on the phone. This would be consistent with your house or somewhere nearby being struck by lightning.
  • Delay taking a shower, doing laundry, or washing the dishes by hand during a thunderstorm because water is an electrical conductor. If lightning strikes your house or nearby, the lightning charge may travel through the pipes, and you could be hurt.

Information on this page was a compilation of various sources mentioned below.

 

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