Living in regions prone to severe thunderstorms can be both beautiful and dangerous. While the sight of lightning can leave us breathless and wide-eyed for hours, it’s essential to remember that lightning strikes can be deadly.
On average, lightning strikes kill three people each year in the UK, injuring another thirty or so. We usually see most thunderstorms in summer, but they could happen at any time of year, particularly when there’s a sudden temperature or humidity change.
Educating communities about lightning protection is essential to minimise the risk of lightning-related incidents. This blog post walks you through everything you need to know about the basics of lightning strikes and how to keep safe.
Lightning science: separating myth from fact
Before diving into lightning safety measures, it’s essential to understand how lightning behaves. In simple terms, all electricity looks for ‘the path of least resistance’ to the ground. This includes lightning bolts.
So, contrary to popular belief, lightning doesn’t always strike the tallest object in an area. Instead, it’s drawn to objects like trees, water and metal – those with low resistance and high electrical charges that provide a quick route to the earth. In reality, lightning is the atmosphere’s charge re-balancing. It’s very similar to the little spark and jump you get from a static shock – but on a much grander scale.
Sometimes, the path of least resistance comes through a human. If your hair ever stands on end in a storm, know that you’re holding an imbalanced charge, and your risk of being struck by lightning is much greater. Lightning can strike the ground up to ten miles away from a storm, which is why it’s vital to take lightning safety seriously. In fact, there’s still an awful lot we need to learn about what lightning is. However, we do know how it acts, and that’s how we know which techniques to employ to keep communities safe.
Lightning safety measures for individuals and families
To protect yourself, your family and yourself from lightning strikes, you can take several safety measures, including:
- Stay indoors during thunderstorms. If you’re outside when a thunderstorm approaches, go inside as soon as possible. A hard-topped vehicle, like a regular car, is the best alternative. Avoid open fields, hilltops and tall objects if you can’t find shelter.
- Unplug electrical devices during thunderstorms. This protects them from power surges and ensures lightning doesn’t shock you through the devices. Unplugging them is safer than simply turning the switch off.
- Avoid contact with electrical devices and appliances. This includes phone chargers, computers, power tools, TVs and kitchen appliances.
- Stay away from windows and doors. This will help protect you from broken glass and flying debris in the event of a close strike.
- Avoid having a shower or bath during thunderstorms. Water is a good conductor of electricity, so having a shower or bath during a thunderstorm is extremely dangerous.
Lightning safety measures for businesses
If you’re a business owner, it’s essential to have a lightning safety plan in place to protect your employees and customers. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Install a lightning protection system. A lightning protection system (LPS) reduces the risk of damage to your building and protects your employees and customers from lightning strikes.
- Unplug any electrical appliances when a storm rolls through. This will significantly reduce the risk of damage to your devices due to power surges.
- Encourage employees and customers to seek shelter indoors during thunderstorms. Post signage to remind employees and customers of lightning safety measures.
- If you have outdoor equipment, make sure it’s properly earthed. The earth (or ground) connection diverts the electricity safely into the ground and away from you, other people, or other devices.
Preparing for and responding to lightning strikes
Despite taking all the necessary precautions, lightning is a natural occurrence and can still strike. Therefore, it’s essential to be prepared and know how to react in case of a lightning strike. Here are some tips:
- Get indoors or into a hard-topped car or van as quickly as possible.
- If you’re outdoors during a thunderstorm, seek shelter in a low-lying area or a ditch, preferably lying down or making yourself as small as possible. Avoid standing near trees, tall objects, bodies of water and metal objects.
- If lightning strikes someone, call 999 immediately and check to see whether the person is breathing. Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest, so you might need to start CPR. Even if they seem okay, you should get paramedics to come and check them over.
- If you’re in a building during a lightning strike, avoid contact with electrical devices, as they can conduct lightning strikes through the building’s electrical system.
- Don’t touch plumbing fixtures or water during a thunderstorm.
Resources for community education and support
As we’ve discussed, lightning strikes can be extremely dangerous, which is why it’s important for communities to have access to reliable information and support when it comes to staying safe. The resources listed below provide a starting point to build community resilience against the potential threat of lightning and thunderstorms.
The Met Office
The Met Office tracks and predicts the weather for the UK. It provides up-to-date information on weather conditions and forecasts, including information on thunderstorms and lightning strikes. The Met Office website has a dedicated section on lightning safety, which provides advice on what to do if you’re caught in a thunderstorm and how to stay safe. The website also offers tips on protecting your property from lightning strikes.
Lightning Protection Association
The International Lightning Protection Association provides lightning protection information and guidance through technical papers and conferences. On the ILPA website, you’ll find information on lightning protection systems, standards and regulations.
Health and Safety Executive
As the UK’s national workplace health and safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is perfectly positioned to offer businesses direction in lightning prevention and preparation. The HSE website has a dedicated section on lightning safety in the workplace.
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents
RoSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, is a UK-based charity that aims to prevent accidents and reduce injuries. RoSPA provides information and advice on lightning safety, including staying safe during a thunderstorm and protecting your property from lightning strikes.
How Lightning Protection Testing UK can help
Educating yourself and your community when it comes to lightning strikes will go a long way in protecting yourselves and your material possessions. It will also allow businesses and public sector organisations to have a plan for getting back up and running in the event of a strike.
Although lightning is more common in some stormy areas, it can hit anyone, anywhere. Ensure you and your community knows exactly what to do before, during and after a thunderstorm so everyone has the best chance possible.
At Lightning Protection Testing UK, we design, install and check lighting protection systems. These divert the electrical energy from lightning strikes away from a building and its occupants and safely down to the ground. If you or your community need old systems checked or upgraded, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a free, no-commitment chat about how we can help. We look forward to hearing from you and offering our knowledge to keep you and your community safe.
