Thunderstorm Action Plan
If thunderstorms and lightning are occurring in your area, monitor the ReadyFrankfort app and/or NOAA weather alerts.  Even though your home is a safe shelter during a lightning storm, you may still be at risk. About one-third of lightning-strike injuiries occur indoors. Here are some tips to keep safe and reduce your risk of being struck by lightning while indoors.

If Indoors
  • Stay away from windows and doors and stay off porches.
  • Monitor the FrankfortReady app and/or NOAA weather alerts or listen to a battery-powered radio for updates.
  • Avoid water. Do not bathe, shower, wash dishes, do laundry or have any other contact with water during a thunderstorm because lightning can travel through a building's plumbing.
  • Do not use your computers, laptops, game systems, washers, dryers, stoves or anything connected to an electrical outlet. Lightning can travel through electrical systems, radio and television reception systems, and any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring. Equip homes with whole-house surge protectors to protect appliances.
  • Corded phones are not safe to use during a thunderstorm. However, it is safe to use cordless or cellular phones during a storm.
  • Do not lie on concrete floors during a thunderstorm. Also, avoid leaning on concrete walls. Lightning can travel though any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring.
If Outdoors
  •  Check the weather forecast before participating in outdoor activities. If the forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity, or make sure adequate safe shelter is readily available.
  • Go indoors. Find a safe, enclosed shelter when you hear thunder. Safe shelters include homes, offices, shopping centers and hard-top vehicles with the windows rolled up.
  • Crouch close o the ground. If you are caught in an open area, crouch down in a ball-like position (feet and knees together) with your head tucked and hands over your ears so that you are down low with minimal contact with the ground. Do not lie down.
  • Separate. If you are in a group during a thunderstorm, separate from one another. This will reduce the number of injuries if lightning strikes the ground.
  • Avoid open vehicles such as convertibles, motorcycles and golf carts. Avoid open structures such as porches, gazebos, baseball dugouts, and sports arenas. And stay away from open spaces such as golf courses, parks, playgrounds, ponds, lakes, swimming pools and beaches.
  • Avoid natural lightning rods such as tall, isolated trees in open areas.
    • If you are in a forest.
      • Seek shelter in a low area under a thick growth of small trees.
    • In an open area.
      • Go to a low place such as ravine or valley. Be alert for flash floods.
    • On open water
      • Get to land and find shelter immediately.
      • If on a boat.
        • Before leaving for any water activity, such as a boating trip, check the weather forecast so you know what to expect during the day. If the forecast is or thunderstorms, plan your trip for another day.
          • If you are out in open water and a thunderstorm rolls in, return to shore immediately to find safe shelter.
          • If you are unable to return to shore, boats with cabins offer some protection. When inside the cabin during a lightning storm, stay away from all metal and electrical components, including the radio, unless it is an emergency.
          • If caught in a storm in a small boat with no cabin, drop anchor and get as low as possible.
            • Precautions
              • Listen to the forecast. Short-term forecasts are quite accurate; however, they may miss some very localized storms.
              • Learn how to read the weather. Watch for the development of large, well-defined, rising cumulus clouds. Cumulus clouds have flat bases and dome or cauliflower shapes. Cumulus clouds can develop into thunderstorm clouds. When you see cumulus reach 30,000 feet, the thunderstorm is generally developing, and it is time to head for shore. As clouds become darker and more anvil-shaped, the storm is already in progress.
              • Watch for distant lightning and listen for distant thunder. You may hear thunder before you see lightning on a bright day. If you hear thunder or see lightning, seek shelter away from the water.
    • Anywhere you feel your hair stand on end (which indicates that lightning is about to strike)
      • Squat low to the ground on the balls of your feet. Place your hands over your ears and your head between your knees. Make yourself the smallest target possible and minimize your contact with the ground. Do not lie flat on the ground.
    • If in a vehicle.
      • If you are driving, try to safely exit the roadway and park.
      • Stay in the vehicle and turn on the emergency flashers until the heavy rain ends.
      • Avoid touching metal or other surfaces that conduct electricity inside or outside the vehicle.
    • If camping, climbing or hiking
      • The best place for shelter during a storm is inside a structure with four walls and a roof or an enclosed vehicles. Small, open shelters and tents to not provide protection. Large ave and valleys are protective. Small caves, overhangs, and wet stream beds are likely to be more dangerous than open areas because water conducts electricity and electricity can jump gaps between rocks. If you are caught in a lightning storm while camping, climbing or hiking, it is often difficult to find a protected place.
        • Precautions
          • Do not carry any metal objects (e.g., skis, ski-poles, antennas, ice-axes). Metal does not attract electricity, but it is a good conductor. Your chances of a direct hit are higher when you are carrying a conductor above shoulder level. You are more likely to be burned if you are in contact with metal when you are struck by lightning.
          • Separate from other members of the group to reduce the number of people injured by ground currents and side flashes between persons.
          • Find refuge immediately, and do not continue to hike or climb for at least 30 minutes after a storm.
          • Stay away from water and wet items (including fences and poles) because they can conduct electricity.
          • If you are in the mountains, stay away from ridges, summits, singles trees, power lines and ski lifts.
          • If you are in the forest, stay near lower trees.
    • If at an organized sporting event
      • Lightning is the most frequent weather hazard affecting athletic events, such as baseball, football, swimming, skiing, track and field, soccer and lacrosse. Lightning can strike and injure both players and spectators in outdoor stadiums during an organized sporting event.
        • Precautions
          • If you are attending an organized sporting event at an outdoor stadium during a lightning storm, you can minimize your risk of being struck by taking precautions:
            • Remain calm
            • Listen for instructions from stadium personnel.
            • Move to the designated safe shelters, away from metal poles and the open field. These shelters should be determined before the event if a chance of a storm exists.
            • Wait for an all-clear signal, which should occur approximately 30 minutes after you hear the last clap of thunder.
Lighting Safety for Outdoor Workers
Lightning strikes occur most often in those who work outside or engage in outdoor recreational activities. The following occupations have the highest risk:
  • Construction and building maintenance
  • Farming and field labor
  • Logging
  • Explosives handling or storage
  • Heavy equipment operation
  • Pipefitting or plumbing
  • Telecommunications field repair
  • Power utility field repair
Steps to Protect Yourself
If you work in a high-risk occupation, you can take steps to protect yourself.
  • Check the forecast. Know the daily weather forecast so you are prepared and know what weather to expect during the day.
  • Pay attention to early weather signs of potential lightning such as high winds, dark clouds or distant thunder or lightning. When these occur, do not start any activity that you cannot quickly stop.
  • Know your company's lightning safety warning program, it it has one. These programs should include access to a safe location and danger warnings that can be issued in time for everyone to get to the safe location.
  • Assess the threat. Although no place outside is safe during a storm, you can minimize your risk by assessing the lightning threat early and taking appropriate actions. For example, if you hear thunder, lightning is close enough to strike you. Stop what you are doing and seek safely in a building or hard-top vehicle with the windows up.
  • Avoid tall structures, including rooftops, scaffolding, utility poles, ladders, trees and large equipment such as bulldozers, cranes and tractors.
  • Do not touch materials or surfaces that conduct electricity, including metal scaffolding, metal equipment, utility lines, water, water pipes or plumbing.
  • If you are in an area with explosives, leave immediately.
Important Reminder
If your coworker is struck by lightning, he or she does not carry an electrical charge. Call 911 and immediately begin first aid response if necessary.
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