Question for the BPL science guys on lightning

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/2756/

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/88079/

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/14997/

lightning hiking poles entered into search yields a few more results

Ken, I thought about posting the same thing, I am glad you did :) A simple search is great and in those threads are links to more plus some articles. Thanks Ken

@Link I can’t have you doing all the work ;)

Where you are relative to the terrain (camped, cooking, resting) is far more important than how much metal you are carrying.

If lightening is hitting near you or your hair stands on end – drop to the ground immediately.  How quickly you get flat is more important than if you have trekking poles or not.

Only after those concerns, sure, less metal is better.  But you’re 15-20 gallons of salty water which is itself conductive.

Don’t camp in an exposed spot.
Tall trees can be lightening rods.
But don’t camp in the lowest spot (flooding).
Drop immediately if you feel your hair on end or hear electrical sounds.

Lightening isn’t always fatal.  One guy survived SEVEN different strikes.  Hurts like a MF, through.

Golfers get zapped more than most NOT because they are waving metal sticks in the air, but because they’ll finish their 18 holes even when the weather has changed and they should have taken shelter.

Like many such questions, there is an xkcd.com on this.

Tongue in cheek xkcd:

https://xkcd.com/795/

xkcd.com with actual science and calculations:

https://what-if.xkcd.com/16/

can I piggy back on this?

We were caught at 12k as a thunderstorm came up fast in CO – around 10a.

There were a few bunches of trees, or the completely exposed pass.  And a LONG way to get to a point where we could go down.

What do you do?

Jennifer, this would be a good article for you to read(it is a linked one of Ken’s links along with some other good articles)

Thunderstorms and Camping Safety by Chuck Doswell Senior Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorology

helpful and clear answers to jimmy and jennifer’s questions from the FAQ in the above link :)

<b>1. Regarding the lightning threat, what about metal tent supports, wire bed frames, handling cooking utensils, wearing a metal-framed backback, rubber-soled shoes, plastic frame packs, non-metallic tent supports, wooden flooring, etc., etc., etc.?</b>

A lightning flash nearing the ground during its descent has found a path through thousands of feet of air, which acts as an excellent insulator. The presence or absence of a metallic object in your vicinity is very unlikely to make any meaningful difference in the threat from that approaching lightning channel. If you are attached to a wire or metal object that reaches well up above your surroundings, that would make a difference! Otherwise, none of the objects in your immediate vicinity will have a signifiicant effect on your risk of being struck by lightning. Your body …. essentially a bag of salty water (plus assorted chemicals) … is already an excellent conductor of electricity and a thin insulating layer (like a wooden floor, or rubber-soled shoes) is not going to stop a flash from going through you to the ground. Such things also will neither protect you from, nor enhance your chances of, being hit by <i>ground currents</i> or <i>side flashes</i> from a lightning flash hitting nearby. Please remember … the flash has gone through <i>thousands of feet of insulating air</i> even before it got close to you. <i>All</i> these nearby objects are virtually irrelevant.

<b>2. If we have to go through an open area in order to reach shelter in a thunderstorm, should we do it?</b>

If the lightning is already occurring near you, do <i>not</i> move into an open area wherein you would be the tallest object around. It’s too late and you would be better off staying in an area surrounded by trees or other tall objects than taking a chance crossing an open area. If the lightning is not yet in your immediate vicinity but is approaching (the time from flash-to-bang is getting shorter), then if you have time to cross the open area to reach a better shelter, then do so quickly so that you’re not caught in the open. If the flash-to-bang time is less than about 30 seconds, then you are most likely better off with the shelter you have.

Good reading and I guess as said  the overpowering energy involved here over rides the metal issues. Thanks for the links, should have searched first. My apologies. We have been following good practices and will continue.

I mentioned once to my wife while hunkering down in a real boomer not to be worried about the deafening thunder and nasty electrical strikes as we were in the best location we could have gotten to and to just enjoy the show. As long as we can here the storm, I told her, we were OK. If fate were against us we would be dead before we ever heard it coming. .

I will reserve my real fears for sailing the lake when the skies turn black with an unanticipated T-storm approaching. THAT aluminum pole (mast) is certainly more of a liability and there aren’t a heck a lot of options for getting away from it :(

“We were caught at 12k as a thunderstorm came up fast in CO – around 10a. There were a few bunches of trees, or the completely exposed pass. And a LONG way to get to a point where we could go down.”

I had this happen in WY. Awful lightning all around and basically nowhere to get away from it for about two miles. Crouch or move out? With no real basis for weighing how much safer I’d be by crouching vs how much safer I’d be by not prolonging my stay in the danger zone (and nothing to suggest the storm would end sooner than I could get away from danger zone), I decided to move out as quickly as I could. I got lucky, at least lucky enough.

Cheers,

Bill S.