Most lightning casualties are a result of the ground current radiating out from a strike.
Most lightning casualties are a result of the ground current radiating out from a strike.
There we were, my climbing partner Renny and I, on the north face of the Middle Teton, a pitch and a half below the summit. That’s when the big cumulus clouds started to come into our view, off to east on the other side of Jackson Hole.
At first glance I wasn’t too worried. As I told Renny, “In the western United States, most thunderstorms track from west to east.”
What I neglected to tell him was, sometimes they come from the south or southwest. But we had absolutely no view in that direction from our position on the north side of the Middle.
The sky above grew darker as we climbed higher. By the time we topped out, we were in the thick of it — rain, hail, gusty winds and lightning cracking at a brisk tempo.
Needless to say, we made a hasty descent, rappelling down the northwest side of the mountain, getting off the ridgetop as quickly as possible, as Thor (god of thunder) kept tossing hand grenades at us. It was as nerve-wracking as being in a war zone.
That was back in the mid-1980s. I was fresh out of college with a degree in meteorology, so you’d think I’d know better than to be on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm. I was younger and dumber back then. Now I’m older, and even though I’ve learned a lot about lightning over the years, I still find myself dodging bolts from time to time.
It is truly a scary experience being caught outdoors in a thunderstorm. Even scarier when you are in the mountains, up in the base of the clouds.
Statistically, though, your chances of being killed by lightning are relatively low. On average 30 to 40 people a year in the United States are killed by lightning, but 10 times that number suffer injuries from lightning.
Part of the reason for the greater number of injuries is because a lightning bolt has about the same explosive power as that hand grenade. The kill radius is about 25 feet, and the casualty or injury radius is about 50 feet.
The electrical energy and intense heat from lightning can hurt you in several ways:
1. Direct strike: This rarely happens. However, if you were unlucky enough to take a direct hit, it would be game over, right then and there.
2. Conduction: Electrical energy travels through all metal objects, as well as graphite, carbon fiber and water.
3. Side flash: The heat and electrical current emanating outward through the air from a nearby lightning strike can cause cardiac arrest, concussive injuries, severe burns and nerve damage.
4. Ground current: When lightning strikes the ground the electrical current is carried outward, radially, in all directions along the ground surface. If that current reaches you it can travel up through your body. Cardiac arrest, burns and nerve damage are all possible from ground current.
Conduction and direct hits, combined, account for only about 20% of all lightning casualties. Side flash accounts for around 30%. Ground current alone accounts for around 50% of all lightning injuries and fatalities.
“When thunder roars, go indoors” is the mantra from the National Weather Service, which is good advice if you are in town. Out in the mountains, on the trail or on the river, we are often miles away from a totally safe shelter. So here are a few tips on how to avoid becoming a lightning casualty when you are far from the safety of a building or a car:
1. Get off ridgetops. Avoid open meadows. Get off the lake or out of the water.
2. Never run for cover under a lone tree. A grove of trees of similar height is a better option. Be cognizant to not stand on top of tree roots.
3. Avoid direct contact with any metal or graphite objects. Climbing gear, fishing poles, your bike, hiking poles, etc.
4. If you are stuck in an exposed location, stay put and protect yourself from ground currents by standing still with both feet together. This can prevent the ground current from traveling up through your body.
5. If in a group, never huddle together. Spread out, 25 to 50 feet apart. That way, when the grenade drops fewer people in your party will be affected by the blast.
6. If all else fails, run like hell to get to a safer location, and hope whatever Thor is throwing down that day misses you by a wide margin.
My greatest fear these days is having this newspaper publish a headline that reads, “Local meteorologist struck by lightning.” That gives me plenty of motivation to not repeat that same situation Renny and I found ourselves in more than 35 years ago on the Middle Teton.
Jim is the chief meteorologist at mountainweather.com and has been forecasting the weather in Jackson Hole and the Teton Range for over 30 years.
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