Lightning Safety: Practical Guidance for the Americas

Lightning risks and safety essentials

The danger grows with the first flashes of a storm. Lightning can harm people and damage goods, while its raw power fuels forest fires and causes injuries and fatalities. In Spain, annual tolls indicate about 10 to 12 deaths from lightning, with roughly 2,000 deaths worldwide. Recent events on a Mallorca beach, where two tourists were killed by a lightning discharge, underline the seriousness of the threat. This is not a risk to be overlooked; it requires deliberate avoidance and respect.

Lightning does not stop at contact with the ground. It can move across surfaces and branch out, so tragedy can strike even when a person is not directly under the storm. In Mallorca, for example, a strike may move from air to earth and then reach bystanders, showing how ground currents can threaten multiple people who stand apart.

What matters is that lightning can strike far from the storm’s center. It would be a mistake to feel safe simply because one is not underneath a visible cloud. Electrical discharges travel several kilometers from the storm’s core, seeking the ground’s most favorable points to complete a strike by connecting with positive charges on the earth.

Staying safe means awareness and prudent action. A common warning is that lightning can target a location far from the obvious storm, so preparation matters wherever one is—on beaches, hills, or open spaces.

Lightning can claim lives even when it seems distant

What steps can reduce exposure to these dangerous discharges?

Metal objects attract lightning. During a storm, it is wise to remove or avoid carrying metal gear. This helps explain why outdoor golfers, who hold metal clubs, face greater risk when storms threaten the area.

Inside a building, close doors and windows to reduce drafts and limit pathways for the electrical current. Lightning often travels through wiring, so it is important to avoid using water taps, landlines, televisions, and other conductive devices during a storm. If a device is connected, unplug it until the danger passes. A nearby strike can send current through wiring and damage electronics and appliances.

If a vehicle is nearby, staying inside the vehicle offers protection. The metal frame acts like a Faraday cage, guiding the current around occupants and safely to the ground. This principle is similar to what happens on airplanes, where the metal shell conducts electricity away from people inside.

People should understand that protection comes from the vehicle’s metal structure, not from the tires or wheels, and current may enter and exit through the exterior and underside.

If outdoors with no shelter, avoid lying flat on the ground or running. Instead, crouch with the feet together to minimize contact points and to reduce easy entry and exit routes for the electric current. Running can attract lightning; staying still but ready is safer.

Lightning can travel along the ground and reach distant places

Gisbert Calabuig’s book Medicina legal y toxicología notes that lightning accidents are somewhat more frequent in regions with more electrical storms, especially around the Mediterranean. Ongoing studies also indicate that climate change will bring more extreme atmospheric events, leading to an increase in lightning occurrences.

Basic tips:

• Take shelter inside a car or a building when thunder or lightning is near. Avoid balconies for photos with a mobile phone during the storm. Do not stand under trees as shelter.
• If at home, avoid bathing or showering and refrain from using landline phones, televisions, and other devices that conduct electricity. Unplug devices.
• Stay indoors for 30 minutes after the last sighting of thunder or lightning. Storm centers can be several miles away and still pose danger.
• If surprised outdoors away from a building or car, seek a low spot or depression in the ground, but do not lie flat. Lightning can travel along the surface and strike from the side, and most victims are hit by surface currents rather than direct strikes.

For additional guidance, consult regional safety guidelines and emergency services practices as summarized by authorities in the region. [Citation: regional safety authorities and climate research indicate rising risk with warmer, more volatile weather patterns.]