Desert Hailstorm

[jlw0142]

So I have been looking online and can’t find a good answer to this question which is slightly concerning lol. Me and my buddy were out in the AZ desert hunting mulies in January and woke up in the night to a lightning hailstorm. Thankfully, we had hiked back to the truck and were staying the night in there but I started thinking about how we would handle it if we were out in a tent. The lightning was close, and this was a flat desert with some rolling hills and a couple decent sized hills but no trees or any good benches for camping. And if we camped in a drainage, I would be worried about a flash flood. We had camped in a saddle the day before and it was fine, but it could’ve been bad if we were still in there. My tent uses my trekking pole, which could conduct electricity, and the hail could tear holes in the tent I imagine. So how would we stay safe in a situation like this? Or is it just sit put and pray? Lol


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[Swamp Fox]

When it's your time, it's your time.

 

[GrayGoose]

Not sure if this would apply to desert terrain but this is what I did on a canoe trip in the BWCA when a storm rolled through. Move away from anything tall, find the lowest spot you can, crouch on the balls of your feet, and have something insulating you from the ground. Also make sure you aren't right next to other people in your group. Probably could use your sleeping bag or pad for hail protection if it was large enough.

 

[EastHumboldt]

Make sure to include a very tall guy who likes to wear foil hats in your group. When the shit starts, stay at least 100 yards from him. Also bring a slow fat guy that you can out run in case predators show up.

Serious answer, try to find a depression that’s mid slope, obviously not on the ridge or in a drainage that’s prone to flash floods. Hunker down and pray.

 

[rayporter]

not much worse unless you camp on an island like we did in Canada one time. i got Marilyn up when the lightning started and went to shore. she was not happy.

in the morning i showed her all the trees with lightning strikes on the island.

 

[jlw0142]

not much worse unless you camp on an island like we did in Canada one time. i got Marilyn up when the lightning started and went to shore. she was not happy.

in the morning i showed her all the trees with lightning strikes on the island.

Yikes! Yeah that’s freakin spooky


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[Dos Perros]

The high country archery mule deer hunters tend to deal with it. I think I recall at least a couple GoHunt videos (one with Brady) and maybe another where it got pretty interesting. Brian Barney tells a couple stories on his podcast too, and at times he (camped on the ridgeline) chooses to drop in the middle of the night until the storm rolls through.

I've never been pelted with big hail, like nothing bigger than a marble and maybe not even that big. Just try to get small, find whatever cover you have. Your instinct tells you to get under a tree but that's where the lightning will get you.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

A few years back we drove over to AZ. side of the Colorado river. that day it rained and all through the night. We got up, the rain had stopped. We got about three miles down the river road only to find a section about 50' wide gone. We went back to the highway and drove south to take the bridge to the south end of the river road, a few miles up we came to another section of the road that had been completely washed out. the rain water had come down the wash and took out everything in its path. The road is a county road, so after a few weeks the damage had been repaired. This is a common occurrence when ever there are heavy storms in the area.

 

[5MilesBack]

Not much out there frightens me, but those lightning storms can get a little freaky. About 16 years ago I was hunting a couple bucks above 12k feet in August. It was a bright sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Within minutes this storm appears out of nowhere and starts dropping grapple and then a little larger hail. And then the lightning started. For 20 minutes it seemed to be hitting all around non-stop. All I could do was crouch, cover up, and then put a finger in each ear. The sound was deafening from the constant thunder of all those close strikes. Funny thing was, not a drop of rain the whole time. Then suddenly it all stopped as quickly as it started, and it was completely clear again. That'll put the fear of God into you.

 

[jlw0142]

Not much out there frightens me, but those lightning storms can get a little freaky. About 16 years ago I was hunting a couple bucks above 12k feet in August. It was a bright sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Within minutes this storm appears out of nowhere and starts dropping grapple and then a little larger hail. And then the lightning started. For 20 minutes it seemed to be hitting all around non-stop. All I could do was crouch, cover up, and then put a finger in each ear. The sound was deafening from the constant thunder of all those close strikes. Funny thing was, not a drop of rain the whole time. Then suddenly it all stopped as quickly as it started, and it was completely clear again. That'll put the fear of God into you.

Yeah man that’s no joke. I bet you really smelled the roses the next day lol


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[doc holiday13]

yeah, never camp in a drainage.. Otherwise you'd probably be fine. I was camping on a river island years ago; about 10:30pm that night I could see a massive lighting storm moving in. I packed all my stuff up and wadded back to the mainland. I probably would have been fine had I stayed, but sudden rise in water is somthing you don't mess with

 

[5MilesBack]

Yeah man that’s no joke. I bet you really smelled the roses the next day lol

I was counting my blessings as soon as it was over.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I was counting my blessings as soon as it was over.

I was up by Bodie Cal ghost town north of Mono lake working my GSP at fall camp with trainer Eldon Hongo when a storm came through. One thing they say about that area, is if you don't like the weather, wait 15 mins. it will change. Anyhow a storm come up, wet had 24 GSP's and 6 horses staked out when the lightning started striking all around us. We worked as fast as we could to get all the dogs and horses in the trailers. I was scared sh*tless the entire time. It rained as hard as I had ever seen with lightning strikes all around us for about a half hour, then it was over.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

The scariest situation I’ve ever had was in my canvas bell tent with a 10 foot metal center pole in South Dakota when a lightning storm rolled thru. There isn’t anything taller than 10 feet out on the South Dakota prairies except the occasional windmill and there weren’t any in sight. I just prayed and hoped that God wasn’t done with me or my son yet.


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[jlw0142]

The scariest situation I’ve ever had was in my canvas bell tent with a 10 foot metal center pole in South Dakota when a lightning storm rolled thru. There isn’t anything taller than 10 feet out on the South Dakota prairies except the occasional windmill and there weren’t any in sight. I just prayed and hoped that God wasn’t done with me or my son yet.


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Geez, man. That appears to be the general consensus: sit tight and pray. Lol


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[Caseknife]

Yep, get mid slope if there is a slope, stay out of the washes and hunker down. Gets kind of scary at times caught in one in the Book Cliffs once and on the top of a peak in NE Wash.

 

[squid-freshprints]

Roan plateau, I had my sidearm vibrate like a cell phone while hunkering through an ungodly lightning storm. I threw that J frame on the ground fast and did not pick it up for a few minutes.