When should you leave the water before a thunderstorm?

Leave immediately

No place outside is safe during a thunderstorm.

Stop the activity and go to a substantial enclosed building or an enclosed hard-topped metal vehicle when:

• thunder is heard, even if it is distant;
• lightning is seen;
• an official warning, venue plan, lifeguard, employer, or designated weather monitor directs people to shelter; or
• the sky becomes threatening and the local lightning plan says to stop.

Do not wait for rain. Lightning can strike outside the rain area, and hearing thunder means lightning is already close enough to be a threat.

If thunderstorms are forecast and no safe building or vehicle can be reached promptly, do not begin the outdoor activity.

If you are in or near water

1. Get out of a pool, lake, river, ocean, or other body of water.
2. Leave the beach, dock, shoreline, or exposed pool deck.
3. If boating, return to land and a substantial building or enclosed hard-topped vehicle as early as conditions permit.
4. Do not use an open picnic shelter, beach shelter, tent, or small shed as the destination.

A covered area near the water may protect against rain without protecting against lightning.

People responsible for a pool, beach, boat, or group should act early enough to account for the time everyone needs to leave the water, collect dependents, and reach the selected shelter.

If you are on high or exposed ground

Leave:

• a summit, ridge, hilltop, rooftop, scaffold, ladder, or elevated platform;
• an open field, sports field, golf course, beach, or exposed work area;
• bleachers, fences, utility equipment, and other conductive structures; and
• isolated trees, poles, towers, and other tall objects.

Keep moving toward a substantial building or enclosed hard-topped vehicle. Do not stop under a tree, in a dugout, under a pavilion, or beneath an overhang.

Metal does not attract lightning, but it conducts current. Do not delay sheltering to remove jewelry or put down a phone. Move away from fences, railings, poles, wet ropes, and other long conductors while continuing toward shelter.

If no safe building or vehicle is reachable

There is no safe outdoor fallback. The following steps may slightly reduce exposure while a person continues toward shelter, but they do not create a safe condition:

• leave water, open fields, summits, and ridge tops;
• move away from isolated tall objects, fences, poles, and wet equipment;
• in a forest, stay among a lower stand of trees rather than beside an isolated tall tree;
• keep moving toward the nearest substantial building or enclosed hard-topped vehicle; and
• if a group cannot reach shelter, avoid clustering closely while maintaining assistance and supervision for anyone who needs it.

Do not lie flat. Ground current can travel away from a strike, and lying flat increases the body's contact with the ground. Do not crouch and remain in place as though that makes the location safe.

For children, pets, and people who need assistance

Adults are responsible for moving children to shelter without delay. Use the route and assistance plan established for the place.

Keep pets leashed or contained when moving them. Do not release a pet and then remain outside trying to retrieve it. A doghouse, open kennel, tent, or small shed is not lightning-safe shelter.

If a group includes someone who needs mobility, communication, or medical assistance, leave early enough for that person to reach shelter with the group. The fastest person's travel time is not the planning standard.

If someone is struck

Call 911 immediately and follow the dispatcher's instructions. Lightning victims do not retain an electrical charge and are safe to touch. Rescuers must also remain alert to continuing lightning danger.

Do not

• Do not wait for rain or for a storm to be directly overhead.
• Do not count seconds between a flash and thunder to decide whether shelter is necessary. If thunder is audible, leave.
• Do not shelter under a tree, pavilion, tent, dugout, porch, overhang, or small shed.
• Do not remain in water, on a beach, on a ridge, or in an open field.
• Do not lie flat or rely on crouching as protection.
• Do not stop moving toward shelter to remove metal objects.
• Do not describe any outdoor location as safe from lightning.

Next action

If thunder or lightning is present, stop reading and go to the shelter selected for the place. Once inside, use the separate return rule before going outdoors again.