Lightning!!!

[canoebie]

thanks for the replies!

I heard that there is also danger from lightning if it struck near you so it mean if it hit near your tree does it means you will get injured too... cuz having a heart stopping with no one around or everyone around you with their heart stop is a very bad thing to have...

I have also read that if you are with a group, the group should disperse during a lightning storm. If someone is hit, others will be available to assist. Therefore, if there is any heart stoppin, there is someone to do some heart startin!!! If everyone is together and struck, there is not much chance of starting again.

[Youngblood]

Tips for surviving a thunderstorm in a hammock:

1. Don't hang on a ridge.
2. Don't hang from the only two trees in an area.
3. Don't hang from the tallest trees in an area.
4. Admire the light show and try not to be too terrified.

Hector has it right. The safest way is to stay away from where lightning has the highest probability of striking... being in a hammock won't make it safe. Trees sometimes explode into pieces, limbs fall, trees fall, etc. Lightning is so powerful that a particular lightning strike can take many paths and is not restricted to just the path of least resistance. And all lightning strikes don't carry the same amount of energy, so what you get by with one time doesn't mean you would the next time.

Lightning is some scary stuff. I saw some folks carry their dead dog out last spring on the AT in Georgia. There were 2 couples and 3 dogs. The lightning hit a tree and got the one dog that wasn't on a sleeping mat with them through the ground. It was a rocky ridgeline. I was waiting for some folks about 4 miles from where it hit and there were only two lightning bolts that hit in that area. If I remember correctly, lightning has been known to strike 30 minutes before the storm clouds arrive and 30 minutes after they have passed.

I have been caught on a ridgeline when a dozen or more strikes hit probably within 200 yards of me where the trail was in at least an inch of water and survived even though I thought I was going to die and then next year I see 2 lightning strikes probably 5 miles apart and 1 of them killed a dog while 2 other dogs and 4 people were lucky it didn't get them too. You never know with lightning, the best you can do is to do the best you can do... just saying.

[Greg Dunlap]

There is no tried and true as far as lightning is concerned. Quite a while ago a group were practicing soccer on a field in South Africa and lightning struck the field, killing 5 of them. It chose to strike the grassy field and not the stadium with the metal posts etc. I've seen it strike open fields while I was standing in the woods also.

I referee youth soccer and we stop games whenever we see or hear lightning anywhere and send everyone home. It has been know to travel 10 miles in 30 seconds so don't take chances with it. Get under cover and hope for the best.

[canoebie]

There is no tried and true as far as lightning is concerned. Quite a while ago a group were practicing soccer on a field in South Africa and lightning struck the field, killing 5 of them. It chose to strike the grassy field and not the stadium with the metal posts etc. I've seen it strike open fields while I was standing in the woods also.

I referee youth soccer and we stop games whenever we see or hear lightning anywhere and send everyone home. It has been know to travel 10 miles in 30 seconds so don't take chances with it. Get under cover and hope for the best.

When I played soccer in college the same thing happened. No storm visible, no thunder, front moving in way off and struck the field. Killed 1, knocked about 10 of us unconscious. That was a very sad day.

This is part of the reason I have so much respect for lightning when I am out of doors. I have seen and experienced first hand the impact.

[darkhawk424]

When I played soccer in college the same thing happened. No storm visible, no thunder, front moving in way off and struck the field. Killed 1, knocked about 10 of us unconscious. That was a very sad day.

This is part of the reason I have so much respect for lightning when I am out of doors. I have seen and experienced first hand the impact.

There was once in my school where a few guys were playing soccer when one of the guys were struck by lightning. The conditions were also the same. no storm no thunder. Lifeguards from nearby pool tried to revive him but he died... poor guy.