The sound of thunder takes five seconds to travel one mile, while lightning arrives almost instantaneously. You can gauge the number of seconds between the thunder and lightning on your watch or by counting by 1,000s. Every five seconds between when you see lightning and you hear thunder means the lightning is a mile away. Stay away from wire fences, rails and other metallic paths along the ground that could carry lightning currents to you. If you re in a small boat or swimming, come ashore, since the electrical current from a nearby strike can flow through the water to you.
Golf carts are unsafe.
No one tree is more likely to be hit than any other. It s also important not to assume that lightning has killed someone whose heart has stopped beating or who has stopped breathing, Lehtola said. More than 80 percent of lightning victims survive, but it s important to improve a victim s chances by administering CPR, she said. All crews of farm workers should include at least one person who has training in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, Lehtola said. Supervisors of agricultural workers need to take lightning seriously, she added.