Lightning

As a youngster with a camp group, we left the summit of a hill in the Badlands as a storm approached. Near the bottom of the trail, lightning struck a tree. The three of us hiking out front were found unconscious on the ground 10-15 feet off the trail. We were out 20-30 minutes with one not waking up for several hours. We three had an easier time than the adults who were with us who had heard the tremendous crash of nearby strike and then came upon our three unconscious bodies. We had heard nothing and felt nothing. We woke up rescued, under blankets in a near-by cabin.
Unharmed camp "heros".

I was in a cabin in the Catskills while an awesome thunderstorm was raging outside. We attempted to start a fire in the fireplace but had difficulty locating tinder as we'd burned all the newspaper already. Two sources of paper–readily available–were a Bible and Koran and we considered which we should use. Decided on the Bible as I only have one Koran and have about 10 Bibles.

Not 30 seconds later a spark of light flashed in the middle of the room, with a pop like a lightbulb burning out, but louder. And then a few seconds later a deafening crash of lightning struck….several hundred feet away.

Maybe someone's idea of a joke at our expense, but it was frightening, but it worked. We didn't burn either holy book.

Image of myself, when I had hair, right before lighting stuck the jetty I was standing on. That was a very close call.
If you look very close you can see it standing on end….

David is correct about the Sierras. By watching clouds and using your barometer you have the ability to be careful. Of course it is mother nature and she still is unpredictable, just using some sense can go along ways. And yes Dennis is correct about the go high and low theory