How To Stay Safe From a Thunderstorm When Camping
Camping is not something most of us would choose to do during a thunderstorm, and for good reason. Dramatic claps of thunder that jolt you awake and leave you burrowing into your sleeping bag while lightning streaks across the sky and the wind picks up are all best enjoyed safely at home. Avoiding outdoor activities during a thunderstorm is the smartest option, so watch the sky and forecast to help make the call on going camping, leaving the campsite or staying if you’re already set up.
Thunderstorms have the reputation of being dangerous primarily because of lightning, but there are other things to think about, as grumbling skies are often joined by wind and precipitation. Let’s look at each of these factors and ways to stay as safe as possible if you’re deep in the woods and can’t bail. The keys to all of these are knowledge, set-up and preparation.
Lightning
Statistically, direct strikes from lightning are the least of your worries, but it’s easy to feel like a future statistic when surrounded by blazing streaks of purple. Unfortunately, your tent or sliding farther into your sleeping bag does nothing to protect you from lightning.
We all believe metal attracts lightning, but it does not. Rather, lightning loves height.
Avoid being on a lone tall object. No matter how low to the ground you or your tent are, lightning will be eyeing you up if you are in a wide-open area. When choosing a spot for your shelter, steer clear of open areas, such as above the treeline, in meadows or on ridges or peaks.
Tall or lone trees are also unsafe to seek shelter under because direct strikes aren’t the only way lightning can give you a buzz. Direct hits only make up about five per cent of lightning injuries. Indirect hits include ground currents and side flashes. Side flashes happen when lightning strikes an object and jumps through the air to a second object. Ground currents—50 per cent of lightning injuries—occur when lightning strikes an object or the ground and the electricity travels through the ground to another object.
While laying flat in your tent during a lightning storm can feel like the safest move, it maximizes your contact with the ground for indirect hits. The lightning position—crouching with knees and feet touching—is not effective enough to count on either. So, the best position to be in when lightning is possible is in a uniform stand of trees, lower ground, or—better yet—sitting in your vehicle.
Wind
Another worry during a thunderstorm is the gales that often accompany the bright bolts and ground-shaking rumbles.
To avoid being the tallest lone object in the middle of nowhere, you might pitch your tent in a uniform stand of trees. Good idea, but look out for big dead branches and standing dead trees when selecting a site. High winds can cause these heavy dead-weights—nicknamed widow-makers—to come hurtling down, and you wouldn’t want to be snoozing underneath them when they do.
Plus, stake your tent out well from the get-go. It’s easy to assume being inside it will hold it down if it gets windy, but when the rain fly is flapping, poles are bending, and the fabric is being pushed down on your face, you’ll wish you had all the guy lines taut and staked.
Precipitation
Being wet and cold is a big reason storms can turn a trip disastrous. Staying or getting dry is always important.
When the rain is coming down, puddles form in dips and depressions in the ground, so avoid those when choosing a spot for your tent.
Condensation, or if your rain fly is touching the tent fabric, can make it feel like it’s raining inside your shelter. Having everything staked out well is essential for moisture management too, minimizing the contact between the tent and rain fly and allowing the rain to run off and away from your tent. If you are worried about a rainstorm, stringing a tarp over your tent is a smart way to keep everything dry as well.
Use a tent footprint or sheet to keep moisture from seeping in from the bottom, and if possible, find a substrate to camp on that will drain well, such as a patch of gravel.
Overall, I wouldn’t choose to camp during a thunderstorm—I prefer to be snuggled in my house, dry and safe, so I can fully appreciate the beauty and power of wild weather. However, if you find yourself on an unexpected stormy adventure, consider lightning safety, wind and water, and likely you’ll emerge buzzing about the prospect of a dry, quiet bed.
Under precipitation, I would also suggest not setting up a tent close to a stream bed (wet or dry); runoff from a thunderstorm can result in flash flooding.