Your Questions About Lightning Safety, Answered
Lightning Safety: straight answers to the questions people actually ask, with the figures behind them.
How to protect yourself from lightning during thunderstorms.
Key takeaways
- Rule of thumb: when thunder roars, go indoors
- Safe shelter: an enclosed building with plumbing and wiring, or a hard-topped metal vehicle with windows closed
- Most useful single change: Check the forecast before outdoor activities and plan where you will shelter.
- Commonest mistake: Sheltering under a tree.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
What is Lightning Safety?
How to protect yourself from lightning during thunderstorms.
Why does it matter?
No place outdoors is safe when thunder can be heard, and many lightning injuries happen to people who were close to shelter.
Rule of thumb for Lightning Safety?
When thunder roars, go indoors.
Safe shelter for Lightning Safety?
An enclosed building with plumbing and wiring, or a hard-topped metal vehicle with windows closed.
Not safe for Lightning Safety?
Open shelters, tents, picnic pavilions, under trees.
Wait time for Lightning Safety?
Stay inside until 30 minutes after the last thunder.
What is the single most useful thing to do?
Check the forecast before outdoor activities and plan where you will shelter.
What is the most common mistake?
Sheltering under a tree.
When should I see a doctor?
Call 911 right away for anyone struck by lightning. If they are not breathing or have no pulse, start CPR and use an AED if one is available.
More questions, answered
Is it true that lightning never strikes the same place twice?
No. Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially tall structures such as towers and tall buildings. It can also strike the same area several times during a single storm.
Are rubber tires what protect you in a car?
No. A hard-topped metal vehicle protects you because the metal body carries the current around the outside and into the ground. The tires make little difference. Keep windows closed and avoid touching metal parts during a storm.
Can I shower during a thunderstorm?
It is best to avoid showering, bathing or washing dishes during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through metal plumbing and water inside a building. Wait until the storm has passed.
How far away can lightning strike?
Lightning can strike several miles away from the storm that produces it. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck, even if the sky above you looks clear.
Is the lightning crouch still recommended?
It is no longer taught as a way to stay safe, because it offers little real protection. Getting to a safe building or hard-topped vehicle is the only reliable approach. If you are truly caught in the open, avoid high ground and water and keep moving toward shelter.
Can lightning come through a phone?
Yes, a corded landline phone can carry current from a strike on the phone line. Cordless phones and cell phones are generally safe to use indoors, as long as they are not plugged in to charge.
Related topics
- CPR and Defibrillation: What the Evidence Actually Says (Emergency Care)
- Hearing and the Brain: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise (Brain Health)
- What the Guidance Really Says About Opioid Overdose and Naloxone (Substance Use and Recovery)
- What the Guidance Really Says About Air Pollution and the AQI (Environmental Health)
Where to go next
- Lightning Safety: A Practical Checklist
- Popular Beliefs About Lightning Safety, and What Is Actually Published
- Lightning Safety — the reference entry
- Weather Safety: The Complete Guide
- What the Guidance Really Says About Flood Water Safety
- What the Guidance Really Says About Older Adults and Extreme Weather
When to speak to a doctor
Call 911 right away for anyone struck by lightning. If they are not breathing or have no pulse, start CPR and use an AED if one is available.
Where this comes from
- CDC — Lightning Safety
- American Red Cross — Thunderstorm Safety
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarized or generalized beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to your doctor, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 911.
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