Information On Lightning While Hiking Or Backpacking

Lightning is a massive electrostatic discharge between electrically charged regions within clouds, or between a cloud and the Earth's surface. The charged regions within the atmosphere temporarily equalize themselves through a lightning flash, commonly referred to as a strike if it hits an object on the ground. There are three primary types; from a cloud to itself (intra-cloud or IC); from one cloud to another cloud (CC) and finally between a cloud and the ground (CG). Although lightning is always accompanied by the sound of thunder, distant lightning may be seen but be too far away for the thunder to be heard.

Lightning occurs approximately 40–50 times a second worldwide, resulting in nearly 1.4 billion flashes per year.

Many factors affect the frequency, distribution, strength, and physical properties of a "typical" lightning flash to a particular region of the world. These factors include ground elevation, latitude, prevailing wind currents, relative humidity, proximity to warm and cold bodies of water, etc. To a certain degree, the ratio between IC, CC and CG lightning may also vary by season in middle latitudes.

Sound of a thunderstormBecause human beings are terrestrial and most of their possessions are on the Earth, where lightning can damage or destroy them, CG lightning is the most studied and best understood of the three types, even though IC and CC are more common. Lightning's unpredictability limits a complete explanation of how or why it occurs, even after hundreds of years of scientific investigation. A typical cloud to ground lightning flash culminates in the formation of an electrically conducting plasma channel through the air in excess of 3 mi. The actual discharge is the final stage of a very complex process. A typical thunderstorm has three or more strikes to the Earth per minute at its peak.

How Lightning Develops Between The Cloud And The Ground

A moving thunderstorm gathers another pool of positively charged particles along the ground that travel with the storm. As the differences in charges continue to increase, positively charged particles rise up taller objects such as trees, houses, and telephone poles. Have you ever been under a storm and had your hair stand up? Yes, the particles also can move up you! This is one of nature's warning signs that says you are in the wrong place, and you may be a lightning target!
The negatively charged area in the storm will send out a charge toward the ground called a stepped leader. It is invisible to the human eye, and moves in steps in less than a second toward the ground. When it gets close to the ground, it is attracted by all these positively charged objects, and a channel develops. You see the electrical transfer in this channel as lightning. There may be several return strokes of electricity within the established channel that you will see as flickering lightning.
http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/science.htm

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS AND MYTHS

1. Lightning never strikes twice… it strikes the Empire State Building in NYC some 22-25 times per year!

2. Rubber tires or a foam pad will insulate me from lightning… it takes about 10,000 volts to create a one inch spark. Lightning has millions of volts and easily can jump 10-20 feet!

3. Lightning rods will protect my ropes course…lightning rods are "preferential attachment points" for lightning. You do not want to "draw" lightning to any area with people nearby.

4. We should get off the water when boating, canoeing or sailing…tall trees and rocky outcrops along shore and on nearby land may be a more dangerous place.

5. A cave is a safe place in a thunderstorm…if it is shallow cave, or an old mine with metallics nearby, it can be a deadly location during lightning.

2.0 Atmospheric Physics 101. At any one time around the planet, there are 2000 thunderstorms and 100 lightning strikes to earth per second. The frequency of lightning increases in the lower latitudes (closer to the equator), and in the higher altitudes (mountainous terrain). In the USA, central Florida experiences some 10-15 lightning strikes per sq. km./yr. The Rocky Mountain west has about two thirds this activity. Central Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and the Latin American mountain regions can experience two to three times as much lightning as central Florida.

Lightning leaders from thunderclouds proceed in steps of tens of meters, electrifying ground-based objects as they approach the earth. Ground-based objects may launch lightning streamers to meet these leaders. Streamers may be heard (some say they "sound like bacon frying") and seen (we may notice our hair standing on end). A connecting leader-streamer results in a closed circuit cloud-to-ground lightning flash. Thunder accompanying it is the acoustic shock wave from the electrical discharge. Thus, thunder and lightning are associated with one another.
3.0 Flash/Bang. We all possess a first-class lightning detection device, built into our heads as standard equipment. By referencing the time in seconds from seeing the lightning (the FLASH, or "F" ) to hearing the accompanying thunder (the BANG, or "B"), we can range lightning's distance. A "1,001 to 1,005" of five seconds equals lightning distance being one mile away. A "1,001 to 1,010" of ten = two miles; a "1,001 to 1,020" of twenty = four miles; a "1,001 to 1,030" of thirty = six miles; etc.

New information shows successive, sequential lightning strikes (distances from Strike 1 to Strike 2 to Strike 3) can be some 6-8 miles apart. Taking immediate defensive actions is recommended when lightning is indicated within 6-8 miles. The next strike could be close enough to be an immediate and severe threat.

Lightning is a capricious and random event. It cannot be predicted with any accuracy. It cannot be prevented. Advanced planning in the form of a risk management program is the best defense for maximum safety.
4.0 Standard lightning defenses. The eco-tourism environment is different from situations where substantial buildings or fully enclosed metal vehicles are the recommended shelters. Lightning in remote terrain creates dangerous conditions. Follow these guidelines:

LIGHTNING SAFETY TIPS
AVOID: Avoid water. Avoid all metallic objects. Avoid the high ground. Avoid solitary tall trees. Avoid close contact with others - spread out 15-20 ft. apart. Avoid contact with dissimilar objects (water & land; boat & land; rock & ground; tree & ground). Avoid open spaces.

SEEK:Seek clumps of shrubs or trees of uniform height. Seek ditches, trenches or the low ground. Seek a low, crouching position with feet together with hands on ears to minimize acoujstic shock from thunder.

KEEP: Keep a high level of safety awareness for thirty minutes after the last observed lightning or thunder.

5.0 Medical treatment and symptoms. Treat the apparently dead first. Immediately administer CPR to restore breathing. Eighty percent of lightning strike victims survive the shock. Lightning strike victims do not retain an electric charge and are safe to handle. Common lightning aftereffects include impaired eyesight and loss of hearing. Electrical burns should be treated as other burns.

Treat lightning like a snake: if you see it or hear it, take evasive measures.

 

Lightning and what you can do while hiking

  Lightning can be one of the most frightening hazards that hikers encounter during the summer months. With warmer weather comes an increased chance of running into a thunderstorm while out on the trail, especially during the afternoons. Hikers need to be watchful for storms that produce lightning, particularly in open areas where you may be the highest object in the immediate area.

According to the National Weather Service there are, on average, roughly 20 million lightning strikes that result in 273 injuries and 48 deaths in the U.S. each year. Those casualty figures may seem fairly low. Indeed, National Geographic estimates the odds of being struck by lightning at only 1 in 700,000 in any given year. However, over the course of a lifetime, your odds of being struck jump to 1 in 3000!

Hikers at the higher elevations in Glacier should be especially conscious about the dangers of lightning. According to the National Outdoor Leadership School, lightning density maps show lightning strikes occurring more often at higher elevations in the Rocky Mountains, where the air and climate is drier.

The good news is that the number of lightning related fatalities has trended downward since 1940 when deaths were measured in the hundreds. There are probably several reasons for this, including a much better understanding of lightning, which has lead to better education on safety and avoidance.

So, what can you do if you’re out hiking and a storm approaches? The first thing you need to understand is that lightning can strike more than 10 miles away from the center of a thunderstorm - well beyond the audible range of thunder. Therefore, if you hear thunder, you’re already within striking range of a storm and should seek shelter immediately.

To measure the distance between you and a lightning strike, count the number of seconds between the time you see a flash and the bang of thunder. Divide that number by five. This will give you the number of miles the lighting strike is away from you.

If you do caught by a storm, and you’re below treeline, here are a few things that you can do to improve your safety:

• Buildings with exposed openings such as backcountry camping shelters or picnic pavilions are not safe.
• Avoid caves as they can channel electricity fairly well.
• Avoid close contact with others. Spread out at least 50 feet apart in order to minimize the chance of everyone in a group being struck.
• Get away from water, and avoid any low spots that accumulate rain run-off.
• With no other options, take shelter under a group of shorter trees among larger trees. A thick forest is far better than a lone tree or a small group of trees.
• Drop all metal objects during a storm, such as internal or external frame backpacks, trekking poles (including aluminum and carbon fiber), crampons, jewelry, etc., and move 100 feet away from them.

If you’re out in the open or above treeline:

• Avoid solitary trees – they’re one of the most dangerous places to be during a storm. Also, avoid any other objects that are higher than the rest of the terrain around you.
• If you can’t immediately get below treeline, find the lowest point of open area and move there quickly.
• Adopt the lightning position as a last resort: Crouch down on the balls of your feet and keep them as close together as possible. Cover your ears, and don’t allow other body parts to touch the ground. By keeping the surface area of your body in contact with the ground to a minimum you reduce the threat of electricity traveling across the ground from affecting you. Keep in mind that this position should only be used as a last resort.

A recent study analyzing lightning victims in Florida found that most people were struck either prior to the storm (rain) reaching their location, or after the storm (rain) had ended. Most of the people that were struck were either near water or near/under trees.

If you feel hairs on your head, leg, or arms tingling and/or standing on end, it means you’re in an extremely high electrical field. If you or any member of your group experiences any of these signs, take it as an indication of immediate and severe danger. The response to any of these signs is to instantly (seconds matter) move away from long conductors (metal fencing, power lines), tall trees, or high points, and spread out and adopt the lightning position.

Hiking In Thunderstorms

Hikes to peaks need to start early, so you can get to the top and get back down before the afternoon clouds build up.

During a lightning storm stay in a section of forest of trees the same height, not on a ridge, not under the tallest trees, not in a cave, under a rock overhang, leaning against a tree or standing on the exposed roots of a tree.

If caught out in an open area (you saw the clouds forming, and you had plenty of time to get to a safe place--what are you doing there?), spread everybody far apart and crouch down (don't lie down). Keep your feet close together. Keep your hands off the ground. Do not lie flat on the ground!!

This position includes squatting (or sitting) and balling up so you are as low as possible without getting prone. Wrap your arms around your legs, both to offer a safer path than your torso for electrons to flow from the ground, and to add enough comfort that you will choose to hold the position longer.Keep your feet together so you don't create potential for current to flow in one foot and out the other ... current may spontaneously trigger your leg muscles to jump while in the lightning position, so take care to avoid being near hazards when you drop into this position.
Crouch on something insulating if possible, such as your ensolite sleeping pad, or climbing rope. Even dry moss or grass or a snow patch is better than bare rock. Especially if you have to sit instead of crouch, get some insulation under your buttocks.

Get metal objects away from you (they don't attract lightning but they carry induced currents which, although they are small, can add to ground currents and make the difference between getting zapped a little and getting zapped too much or burnt. A woman's watch was burned to her wrist in one instance.)

Stay out of small depressions. Pick a slight rise instead. Not in standing water or a puddle.
Hey! Spread out your group so you aren't all hit at once
But mostly, pick a place quickly and get down, and stay down.

Estimating the Distance from a Thunderstorm

Because light travels much faster than sound, lightning flashes can be seen long before the resulting thunder is heard. Estimate the number of miles you are from a thunderstorm by counting the number of seconds between a flash of lightning and the next clap of thunder. Divide this number by five.

Treatment Principles

· Scene Safety: Avoid further injury to survivors, rescuers, and the patient. You may have to wait for the storm to pass to treat
some patients if they are in extremely hazardous locations.

· Basic Life Support: Rescuers should be prepared to provide prolonged rescue breathing.

· Triage: Unlike normal triage protocols in multi-casualty situations, attend first to those who are in cardiac or respiratory arrest
without obvious lethal injury.

· Assessment: All patients require a complete body survey and careful evaluation for head, spinal, long bone, or cardiac injuries.

Peripheral pulses, and sensory and motor status, should be assessed. Check the skin for small hidden burns.

· Monitor closely for cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological collapse.

· Evacuate any patient obviously injured by lightning, and be alert for lingering physical or neurological issues from exposure to
lightning that should be evacuated for further evaluation and treatment.