How a lightning strike can kill, even when it misses you.

[CMF]

Totally agree with treewalking...in my experience lightning/hail storms up high and above treeline between July-Sept in CO are no joke.

Curious, is most of that lightning up there cloud to cloud or cloud to ground? I was up high most of August on a sheep hunt. Most of the lightning I saw/heard never seemed real close. This compared to lightning on the gulfcoast and out in the boat fishing, where we've actually layed our poles down, beached the boat and crawled into the marsh and spread out. I feel like I've been really close to lightning at least a dozen times in MS. Guys I talked to had warned me of the CO high country storms in August, but maybe I just got lucky and avoided most.

 

[HandgunHTR]

The reason is steam, Hyper-steam.
A water droplet expands to 10,000 times its size, when turned to steam.
When its done in a nanosecond, its a lot like the way dynamite does its thing.

Not quite 10000 times (actually 1700), but it is significant. Tight-grained trees with lots of sap are the ones that tend to explode.

In regards to voltage and its relation to amperage (current), it is governed by Ohms Law. For a given voltage, the current (amps), is dependent on the resistance. If there is a high resistance, the amperage will be low.

So, while the typical voltage of a standard static shock can be greater than 3500 volts, the natural resistance of the human body is high, so the amperage will be quite low (as stated in the OP).

 

[Tobe_B]

Had a good lightning scare at home this weekend. Sitting on the couch watching the storm pass by the mountains about 15-20 miles to our west. Raining off and on all morning, good amount of electricity in the clouds. It started to clear up at home and I thought I’d run out and feed my horses before cooking breakfast for the family. Hardly any clouds over head, and nothing threatening, with no lightning close by, a bolt hit between me and the house. Maybe 20 to 30 yards from where I was standing. Sounded like a gun shot had gone off, only louder. I was bent over and saw the flash in my peripheral. My whole world went quiet, like everything just stopped. I came to and realized I was alive, watched my foal flip over the fence, and saw the mare on my other side. My wife was inside the house holding our new born. She came running to the door to see if I was alive or dead, when she touched the screen door the static blew her hand off it and shocked her pretty good. We got lucky all the way around. The only damage we got was our internet system got fried.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Oakman]

Interesting Colorado data here. It’s a strong reminder that when lightning strikes, it can hit hard and fast, especially out in the wild. This site shows historical lightning flash counts
National Weather Service
You can use this data to estimate your risk and plan accordingly, and even with precautions, you can’t eliminate all risk, you just reduce it. in short keep checking weather forecast, and try your best

 

[Oakman]

The chances of getting struck by lightning are slim, but when it happens, it can be fatal.
Am I concerned? Yes. Is it at the top of my list? Not really.

Still, taking the right precautions matters. There are plenty of safety factors to consider, and lightning is definitely one of them. Smart planning means keeping an eye on the weather, being prepared for flash floods, staying aware of wildlife and predators, ensuring access to food and water, and avoiding activities that push beyond your limits. The list goes on, but after all that, I try not to forget why I came to the wilderness in the first place

 

[EastHumboldt]

Why can’t I get struck by Powerball? In the words of Tevya “If money is a curse, why can’t the Lord smite me with it?”