Lightnings: where within the cloud?

[Árpád Magosányi]

As I understand, one of the greatest risks for a paraglider caught in the updraft of a storm cloud is lightning.
So the question is: how does the internal structure of a cumulonimbus looks like, where you are most and least likely to encounter lightnings, and what would be the best evasion techniques if one have already caught in the updraft: keep up with the draft, or exit it (and to what direction)?

 

[Jason Boggs]

Simple answer for a paraglider: Stay away from storms. Anywhere near a storm is a risk of getting struck by lightning.

 

[Tim Paitz]

Simple answer for a paraglider: Stay away from storms. Anywhere near a storm is a risk of getting struck by lightning.

Or worse, getting stuck in the updraft. That happened some years ago to 5 pilots (4 died and 1 lived). They probably either froze to death or died from hypoxia if they were high enough up.

 

[Árpád Magosányi]

Thanks for the answers so far. But I am specifically interested in a situation when the paraglider is already caught in the updraft, and cold and hypoxia are no big concerns (clothes and oxygen are available).

 

[Lou Ruh]

As Jason said anywhere near a storm is at risk of getting struck. We could amend that to say anywhere near or in a storm is at risk of getting struck. I truly doubt anyone who chases storms is even going to hazard a guess at this question (if there is even a more rational answer, which there probably isn't ... every storm is different so a mapping of lightning occurrences in the storm will be different for each storm) ... you can get struck anywhere near or in the storm, not sure there's a better way to answer this.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The entire airspace inside and a few miles outside of a thunderstorm has an active electric field (IE, is hazardous), so there isn't a safe place to be in that type of aircraft anywhere near it. Furthermore, aircraft act as a nucleation point for lightning leader initiation inside of a strong electric field, meaning that the craft itself often actually triggers the beginning of a strike.

 

[Devin Pitts]

Thanks for the answers so far. But I am specifically interested in a situation when the paraglider is already caught in the updraft, and cold and hypoxia are no big concerns (clothes and oxygen are available).

If a paraglider getscaught in the updraft, it's likely impossible to fly out of that situation. The updraft itself will move anywhere from 60mph to 150mph directly vertical, so control of your craft will be limited and you're pretty much stuck for the ride up. Here's what a pilot experienced in this situation after he had to eject over the top of one: https://www.damninteresting.com/rider-on-the-storm/