lightning
 

What do you guys do about lightning? Just ride in it? Tomorrow may be the first day I've had to deal with this, as I've always had my truck as backup.

It's pretty rare for thunderstorms to last for hours and hours. Most thunderstorms will be over in about an hour or so in the Harrisburg area... when I lived in Erie, they were often much shorter since the terrain is so much flatter. Around Madison, they might only last a half hour.

Most of the lightning is on the edges of the storm.

They also tend to happen at pretty predictable times. It's fairly odd to have strong storms early in the day. Think about 3pm til maybe 6pm as the high storm odds window. So you don't do much besides keep half an eye on the radar (there should be observation instruments somewhere in Erie, since it's still a major port, but I can't remember where they are). If the radar is looking nasty, head home a touch early, or plan on being home late.

If you have a long commute, it will take more planning. But even there... you'll know which way you're tilting things if a storm comes.

Depends on the part of the country you are in. I live in the Sandhills/Coastal Plains of NC. We occasional get clear sky strikes around here. If you get hit by one of those, it was your time to go!:eek:

As a general rule I don't like riding in a heavy thunderstorm. The ones we get around here run in cells, once a cell has moved through, even if it is still raining I will ride. I don't think I would want to ride in a storm in the plains where I was the tallest thing around.

Aaron:)

Edit: apparently was wrong.

Please don't spread that untruth. Your tires provide you ZERO insulation against lightning.

What protects car drivers is not their tires, but rather that they are in a steel cage that gives lightning a way to go around them. A million volts can easily find a way to traverse a wet bicycle tire. The trees on the side of the road as you ride give you more protection than your tires, if only because they are taller than you are and provide a more tempting target than you do.

Just an FYI -- the amount of rubber in your tires doesn't really provide any insulation against lightning (whether on a bike or in a car).

EDIT: oops, Artkansas beat me to it...

it's best to avoid it. I've ridden through some and later thought better of that decision.

one day in particular I saw the storm clouds coming as I rode a road through cornfields and farmland and the storm was so low and then this one rolling crackling thunder came in low over my head and crossing my path perpendicular to my travel. I could hear it approaching from my left and continuing to crackle and spark and thunder in a rolling fashion over head and then move to my right. the whole time I thought I was going to die. I thought this was the moment that would end my life and it would be spectacular! I was so scared and I really DIDN'T want to die.

I never want to go through that again.

http://www.weather.gov/om/lightning/outdoors.htm
Motorcyclist/Bicyclist

• Virginia Beach, VA: Motorcyclist killed while traveling on Route 58.
• Colorado: a 16 year old boy killed while riding a bicycle.
• Tennessee: a 47 year old man killed while leaning against his motorcycle.
• Virginia: a man killed riding his motorcycle.

Protect yourself when on a bicycle, motorcycle or dirt bike. Carry a portable NOAA Weather Radio or listen to commercial radio. If you see threatening skies in the distance and you are near a safe building, pull over and wait 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder before resuming your ride.


Cyclist Struck By Lightning In Boulder

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...20/detail.html

Bicycle Struck by Lightning.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...639C946197D6CF


Bicyclist Hit By Lightning In Critical Condition

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...05/detail.html

Does it make any difference that it's an in-town commute where I'm surrounded by taller objects (buildings, trees, etc)?

um yeah cuz those buildings probably have lighting rods on their roofs to attract and guide any bolts

Is this sarcasm? I can't tell.

no, I was serious. why? doesn't it make sense?

Maybe...

Also just as an FYI a lightning rod system is designed to bleed off the charge that builds up and attracts lightning. They also do provide a quick route to the ground for a strike if it occurs. I spent several years as a UL certified lightning rod installer on a couple of large government projects. Most people don't realize that lightning actually starts out from the ground with a leader strike, that draws the strike from the Sky.

Also someone posted about "rolling thunder" that is usually a sign of cloud to cloud strikes and is actually safer than the "crack" thunder which means a ground strike.

Aaron:)

that was me with the rolling thunder. cool info! I guess that's why I wasn't on that day leaving only a singed smoking pile of metal and bio waste

You link to some news articles that point out that people really do die from lightning strikes. The thing is, although these events are noteworthy (in the sense of, they make the news and people find them interesting) they are partly noteworthy because they are so unusual.

I don't know the statistics, but I would be interested to see...

is the difference between your chances of being killed riding in a rainstorm without lightning versus riding in a rainstorm with lightning negligible / insignificant?
It's not that I think it is all that safe to ride in a lightning storm - it's that I think perhaps most of the risk comes from getting on the road and sharing it with cars (cars kill 40,000 per year in the usa), rather than the lightning (kills ~58 per year in the usa).

I Was Shocked By Lightning
 

At age twelve I was outside sitting in a small metal shed with two other friends doing bicycle repair during a thunderstorm. I was leaning against the metal wall. The shed was attached to a metal fence by several strings holding eggplant vines. There were several tall oak trees all around us and their branches were touching the fence.

A lightning bolt struck one of the trees very close by and my back got an electric shock. It wasn't bad. It did startle me. If I could describe the nearest thing to the feeling, it would be like touching your tongue to the top of a weak 9 volt battery except the feeling was all over my shoulders and upper back. The sound was scarier than the electric shock.

Well, it seems pretty tough to plan my commute to work based on a lightning storm. I guess I'll just have to see if I feel like I'm going to die when it happens. Does everyone else just ride, or do you all wait it out?

*DINGDINGDING* We have a winner.

While I agree with a previous poster that riding alone in a major storm along a treeless plain is probably a poor decision, the risk of being struck by lightning is so low that you shouldn't be worrying about it.

This isn't to say you shouldn't take precautions when riding in inclement weather—visibility is still poor, roads are still slick, winds can still gust and (most importantly) cars will still have a much harder time seeing you—but lightning itself is more or less a non-threat.

I'm much more concerned about cars than lightning. That said, if I can avoid biking in a thunderstorm, I will. Just last week I had to leave work early to avoid a big storm heading my way with high winds and driving rain.

This is the whole reason I don't worry about it.

That said, if it's just a passing t-storm, I'll wait it out if it won't make me late for work, but I will ride in it if necessary, and I've done so.

Now hail—I've been hailed on and don't care for that one bit at all. I will seek shelter from hail.

I agree that cars are more of a problem. As pointed out earlier, the part of the country I ride in the storms typically come in cells, and I will normally wait them out.

Aaron :)

I like it. It's primal. But, like tsl, I will take shelter from hail.

I don't ride in it anymore after having been struck through the ground by a bolt.

All these people who quote 38 deaths a year from lightning are abusing the statistics. First, one doesn't need to die to have their life changed permanently by a lightning strike.. so what are the odds of simply being struck? a lot higher i'll bet. in fact the odds of being struck again go up if you are struck once.

Secondly, the rate of 38 deaths is often put forth in the scope of the general population... that is misleading because the general population isn't outside in a lightning storm. One could conclude swimming in a pool of great white sharks is safe since only 15 people die a year in shark attacks. Does that make swimming in a pool of great white sharks safe? no. Does cycling around in an open field during a lightning storm seem safe because only 38 people die a year from it? no. Use some common sense.

Thanks for all your feedback. I think I'll leave early or late if I can avoid the storm, but if I have no choice I will accept my risk for what it is. I think I am more likely to be hit and killed by a car than a lightning strike. That being said, if I find out I cry like a baby when the storm gets bad, I'll rethink my position.

It depends, usually if I've gotten started, I continue, but if I've been smart and checked the weather.gov site, I may wait, or I may realize that I'd better get booking before the real weather hits.

A few weeks ago, when I rode home, there was lightning on 3 sides of me, (no rain, strangely) and as I got near home, the tornado alarms began wailing. Maybe I should have waited, but it was relatively quiet when I left work.

Sites like weather.gov are such a blessing to bicyclists.

according to this, about 3 times as many people are injured by lightning than killed by it. if we're accepting 38 as the correct yearly figure, then we could expect somewhere in the vicinity of 120 strikes that do not kill every year. still hardly a statistic to worry about.

i think everyone has made the proper caveats. there are things you can do to reduce your risk, but honestly how many people out there commute through giant vacant fields every day? i'm sorry you've been hit by lightning, but just because your lifetime risk is 100% doesn't mean you should act as a scare-monger.

bottom-line: don't worry about being hit by lightning. don't ride if you can't handle the weather. don't get hit by a car.