How do Storm Chasers/Spotter stay safe with lightning?

Raymond Mason · Dec 17, 2013

You know, I have seen a lot of videos of storm chasers and the likes getting out of their cars to take photos and what not. I read that lightning was the second most dangerous thing to a chaser the first being traffic accidents. I mean, do a lot of chasers don't worry about it? I read that even though there might not be lightning around; the first strike could be you.

When you are in a car you are OK, but when you leave it you take a chance. What are your guys experience with lightning and being safe outside in a super cell thunderstorm with lightning? This is a question that strikes me as important.

Jeff Duda · Dec 17, 2013

Lightning can be a tricky matter. Indeed you need to be very careful when around all storms, not just the most intense ones. It's also true that some storms spit out much more lighting than others, and some like to spit out loud, nasty CGs in that perfect area to view tornadoes (from the south and east of the updraft). Every situation is a little different, so you need to always be aware of where lightning seems to be preferred in a storm. Unfortunately, taking the ultimate precautions against such close calls generally will force you to abandon good vantage points or call off the chase altogether. And you don't wanna do that, do you?

It seems general points about minimizing your chances of being struck by lightning while chasing include:
-stick to environments that contain tall objects like trees, power poles, wind turbines, or high-tension high-voltage lines. You don't want to be the tallest object nearby. A place like W Texas is pretty bad to be in a highly electrical storm.
-Get as low as possible. Even if you are one of the taller objects around, if you can get low, your chances of being struck should go down. Ways to get low include crouching or looking for low spots in culverts, ditches, ravines that run near roads, for example.
-Make yourself an unattractive target: if you carry around a lot of metallic objects like cameras, tripods, or instrumentation, you're increasing your odds of a bolt hitting you as opposed to some other nearby target. Wear rubber/plastic shoes, too.
-Stay inside a car when possible. When in a car, keep all doors closed and windows up all the way. While a car does act like a cage to direct electricity around you and to the ground, you can enable current to enter if you leave any openings. This also means you need to unplug all electrical devices wired to the battery or an inverter (like computers, cameras, GPS, cell phones, inverters) and keep your hands away from objects that protrude outside the car or have a path to a ground outside the car. These mainly include the radio and instrument cluster devices. If the pedals are coated with metal, also be careful not to sit your feet on them.

I have had one or two close calls with lightning strikes while I was out in the open. Unfortunately, even when keeping your head on a swivel, lightning gives essentially no warning (those one or two sections before it strikes won't be enough in many cases to avoid getting struck), and so it is generally impossible to avoid on such short notice. The best you can do is take the preventative steps I listed above and be prepared in the event you or someone nearby is struck. Remind yourself every time you get close to a storm about the lightning hazard. Situational awareness is key.

John Olexa · Dec 17, 2013

90% of my chasing is shooting lightning. Not much you can do standing in a open field or parking lot or standing on a pier by the water! LOL. I like to get to my spot about 30 -40 minutes ahead of the storm. When I first start to hear the rumble of thunder off in the distance that's when it's the most nerve racking for me. Once the storm is in shooting range I don't even think to be worried.

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w

unctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w

oNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w

ontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w

ontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]-->

Dan Robinson · Dec 17, 2013

Setting up under substantial power lines is a good place that I use frequently, though they're not 100% risk-free (lightning can do strange things). I've been shooting more often lately from my car using a window mount, tripod or just handheld if there aren't many artificial light sources in the frame. For shooting anvil crawlers/intracloud/upward lightning from towers, I don't worry as much about the CG risk standing outside. There have only been a couple of times out in the open that I felt unsafe enough to dive in the car and just leave the camera running outside.

Josh Durkee · Dec 17, 2013

I have a Canon 6D, which has wifi shooting capabilities. It was nice this past season to be able to set the camera up outside and shoot from inside the vehicle using my phone or ipad.

Sean Ramsey · Dec 17, 2013

On longer exposures I will snap a shot with my 7D and run back and sit in the car until it's done, then repeat. I don't feel comfortable just ducking down when lightning is nearby.

Bob Schafer · Dec 17, 2013

I read an article in 5280 Magazine a year or two ago about what you can expect after being hit by lightning, assuming you survive. At the time I almost posted the link and some thoughts about the subject here on this forum. I never did. IIRC it was for not wanting to be a "Debbie Downer". I can say, though, that I pretty much always stay in my car when there is any lightning at all. The article in 5280 was scary. It spoke of permanent, life changing disabilities.

Raymond Mason · Dec 18, 2013

Thanks Jeff for your insight! Safety is my number one priority. If I ever manage to get out of this desert and into the plains I will remember this

Michael Towers · Dec 18, 2013

Lightning is my biggest concern among threats directly related to a storm. You canâ€™t ever be 100% risk free outside under an electrical storm, you take a risk any time youâ€™re exposed and personally I prefer to err on the side of caution. Based on my experience Iâ€™d say when lightning threatens itâ€™s easier to stay in the car than to get back into the car while something amazing is happening. While I strongly prefer to be outside to film and experience a storm Iâ€™ll almost always retreat to my vehicle if I feel threatened. No tornado or event is worth becoming a victim to lightning but I admit Iâ€™ve lingered too long on certain occasions when I should have been getting out from under the storm. I donâ€™t recall however having ever gotten out of my car under similar circumstances so Iâ€™d say Iâ€™m more willing to tolerate an existing risk than to create a comparable one.

Greg Campbell · Dec 30, 2013

Here in Az, many of the storms tend to be sequential pop-up cells. I'm careful to keep track of any suspiciously dark areas that may indicate building convection. If it looks like something is building above or moving my way, or even if a few new sprinkles start to fall, I'll head for the car and/or reposition. (Even this level of attention is no guarantee. Once every two or three years I'll get a 'surprise' bolt from nowhere that strikes within ~1/3 mile.)

Whenever possible, I get beneath power lines, keeping a hopefully healthy distance away from any of the poles.

To somewhat reduce the chances of ground current getting me, I always stand with feet touching, and never touch anything else (camera, etc.) more than absolutely necessary. I even made a rubber and steel mesh pad to stand on. Mesh beneath, 3/4 inches of rubber above. This should further isolate me from in-ground current, and the insulation just might(?) reduce the chances of a positive streamer launching off the top of my head.

Apart from a direct hit, the scariest effect is ground arcing, where branches of the lightning traveling just above the ground surface radiate for tens of feet from the point of impact. I don't think there's much a person can do to protect themselves from this hazard.

I suppose my worst safety practice is simply enjoying the storms a little too much. Even when the camera is happily chonking away in Rambo Mode, I often choose to stand out in the open and appreciate the show, take pictures with a 2nd camera, etc., rather than go sit in the car.

Matt Ashworth · Jan 1, 2014

Most of my storm watching experiences involve lightning and Jeff Duda got it right. Make yourself a poor target and you'll have far better odds and staying safe.

Greg McLaughlin · Jan 1, 2014

I don't know if there is anything one can really do, aside from remaining in a vehicle. In my 17 years of chasing I have never seen any evidence that taller objects aside from communication towers are more prone to lightning strikes. I have found myself very close to CG strikes at least once or twice every season, but fortunately I have not been struck.

Robert Edmonds · Jan 1, 2014

I just stay inside the car if lightning is close. I will even disconnect or remove external antennas. I'm paranoid about all the electronic equipment near me breaking that faraday cage.

Scott Olson · Jan 2, 2014

I've never had that great a problem with it. Been chasing 13 years, probably sat near or under hundreds of storms. Most of the time we are in our cars anyways, when we are out it's usually miles from the storm. No doubt it's come down nearby and I've had bolts near the car that have made me near deaf.

You naturally exercise special caution when you notice those nasty + bolts coming down from 30,000 feet up and striking the ground. You get a pretty quick feel for a storm, as some storms present little CG hazard while others are like being in a war zone.

Stephen Levine · Jan 7, 2014

Lightning is my very favorite weather. I've twice moved across the country because of lack of lightning, and have watched thunderstorms for many decades.
I agree that lightning is very unpredictable. Twice while living in western Ohio and watching a storm move along (one was about 20 miles away) I was stunned by a clap of thunder behind me in the clear air.
During my 20's I was relatively fearless and placed myself in open surroundings I'd not do today. When filming lightning striking within just a couple miles of me, my car is my home. Windows rolled up, or just slightly cracked. I prefer a slightly raindrop blemished great lightning photo shot from inside my car to the perfect shot, but taken outside during potential great danger. I've seen lightning strike within a few feet of my car window and slither across the parking lot (What a rush!!) I always had somewhat of a cringe when keeping my ham radio hooked up when lightning was near. Now, I keep it off, though then again, I have my Garmin radar connected to the cigarette lighter. No external antenna at least...

How do Storm Chasers/Spotter stay safe with lightning?

Raymond Mason

EF1

Jeff Duda

site owner, PhD

John Olexa

EF5

Dan Robinson

EF5

Josh Durkee

EF1

Sean Ramsey

EF4

Bob Schafer

EF5

Raymond Mason

EF1

Michael Towers

Greg Campbell

EF5

Matt Ashworth

EF1

Greg McLaughlin

EF5

Robert Edmonds

EF5

Scott Olson

EF5

Stephen Levine

EF4

Similar threads