Open water, wet ground and a graphite rod are a poor mix when storms build. Weather Service advice is plain: if thunder is audible, you are close enough to be hit, and it is time to get to shelter.
How often lightning strikes
The country sees on the order of 25 million flashes a year. Summer is the peak, but a strike can happen in any season. Lightning causes about 20 deaths a year nationwide, and hundreds of serious injuries.
As soon as you hear thunder
Head immediately to safe shelter: a sturdy building with wiring or plumbing, or a hard-topped metal vehicle with the windows closed. Give it a full half hour after the final rumble before you head back out.
If no real shelter is nearby, get down from hills, ridges or peaks, and leave ponds, lakes and other open water. Keep your distance from anything that carries current, such as fences and power lines.
Once you are inside
Avoid corded phones, computers and other gear that puts you in direct contact with electricity. The same half-hour wait still applies after the last thunder.
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