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Dear weather dudes, On our lunch time swim 8-3-06 (1 mile square lake for example) I turn to locate my partner when I noticed a bolt of lightning not so far off in the distance. We hi-tailed it out of the water fast. So my question is "what would happen to us if light struck within that square mile of the lake (in the water)???????" The fish and ducks seem to survive l-stikes or am I mistaken? Bill C. Ogden, UT
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Bill, don't forget the one dudette on our weather team!
Lightning and water just don't mix. Lightning will travel easily through water and if you're in the water, well that's not wise. Lightning will hit the highest thing around, so if you are in a pond or lake, and the highest thing around is your head in the water or a boat, then it will strike that.
There is little research on how far lightning spreads when it hits water but as you were saying, the fish and ducks survive so it is thought that the current does weaken as it spreads out.
Do you want to find out how much it weakens or where it weakens? Probably not! With most fatality and lightning accidents on the water, it appears that deaths are within 100 feet or less from the strike. But the electric current can spread through that or if you're at a pool or somewhere with plumbing, wire or pipes, the current can travel farther through those devices.
If you are close enough to a storm to hear thunder, you are close enough to be struck. Lightning can strike 10 miles from a parent thunderstorm and some believe it can go up to 20 miles from a storm. If you hear thunder or see lightning, get out of the water and to a sturdy structure. Don't use the running water like the shower or start washing dishes or be on the phone. If lightning strikes the structure, the current can move through the home and into the water or the phone lines.
So Bill, what would happen if lightning struck in the square mile you were in? It's hard to say, but I'd get out of there! Lightning research is still a relatively new field and studies are still be doing on it. Ball lightning and lightning over water are two areas with little research at this time.
Answered by KSL Meteorologist Dina Freedman.
