{"id":3213,"date":"2026-07-16T11:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/?p=3213"},"modified":"2026-07-16T11:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:51:12","slug":"everything-hikers-know-about-lightning-safety-is-wrong-a-storm-expert-explains-the-rules-that-actually-keep-you-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/outside\/2026\/07\/16\/everything-hikers-know-about-lightning-safety-is-wrong-a-storm-expert-explains-the-rules-that-actually-keep-you-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong. A Storm Expert Explains the Rules That Actually Keep You Safe."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Thunderstorm and lightning strike on Electric Peak, Yellowstone National Park (Photo: Neal Herbert \/ NPS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong. A Storm Expert Explains the Rules That Actually Keep You Safe.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Get off the summit? Avoid tall trees? Crouch down? Some of the most repeated rules are myths. Here’s the updated guidance that actually holds up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Corey Buhay<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: July 16, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

About a decade ago, when I first learned about risk management in my college outdoors club, I was taught that assuming the \u201clightning position\u201d was the best way to protect yourself in a thunderstorm (spoiler alert: it does bugger-all). If you managed to avoid this particular tidbit of backcountry lore, allow me to provide a refresher: the lightning position involves crouching down on a sleeping pad with your heels touching, your chest pressed against your knees, and your hands clamped over your ears. It\u2019s supposed to limit your likelihood of getting electrocuted.<\/p><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last decade, many outdoor education groups have softened their stances, now saying the lightning position can only slightly<\/i> mitigate risk and should only be used as a last resort. But many, including the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), still suggest sitting on a sleeping pad as a worst-case-scenario way to help insulate your body from ground strikes once you\u2019ve tried everything else (it doesn\u2019t help). And others, including the Boy Scouts, say touching metal can increase your risk of getting struck (another myth).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few hikers take the time to regularly upgrade their knowledge. That\u2019s because safety research is a total pain. It\u2019s much more fun to authoritatively parrot decades-old adages back to our friends and family (guilty). So, allow me to provide our overdue update. Here\u2019s what\u2019s actually true about lightning safety in the backcountry. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lightning position is actually bogus.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

NOLS teaches that the lightning position is a last-ditch option that can mitigate the effects of a ground strike once hikers have done everything else in their power to find shelter. But according to Dr. Ron Holle, a meteorologist and safety specialist for the Lightning Safety Council, even that\u2019s not necessarily the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lightning position is useless,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of speculative, \u2018I suppose this could work,\u2019 sort of advice out there. But I have a file cabinet with about 5,000 cases of people being killed or injured by lightning, and none of those \u2018I suppose\u2019 methods work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Kristin Calhoun, a research scientist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory<\/a>, is inclined to agree that the lightning position is unhelpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I was in an open field, I wouldn\u2019t assume that position,\u201d she says. \u201cI would run.\u201d Finding lower ground and getting under uniform tree cover are some of the few things that can measurably decrease your lightning risk, she says. (NOLS, for its part, agrees that finding shelter should be a hiker\u2019s first priority in a storm.) She adds that standing or sitting on a sleeping pad \u201cmakes no difference\u201d that she\u2019s aware of. Better to leave the pad in your pack and focus on moving to a safer location.
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You can get struck by a storm that\u2019s up to 10 miles away.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many of us have stood on a ridge or mountaintop, seen a storm building in the distance, and told ourselves we still had time. That\u2019s a dangerous misconception, says Calhoun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople often don\u2019t worry about a storm until it\u2019s actively raining over them,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut it\u2019s often the first flash of lightning that\u2019s the most deadly because people haven\u2019t taken protective action yet.\u201d  <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing under a tree can sometimes be worse than standing out in the open.<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lightning tends to strike the tallest object on a landscape. So, if you\u2019re standing on a tall ridge, your head is that high point (not ideal). But standing under a tall or solitary tree can sometimes be worse. That\u2019s because direct strikes\u2014instances where people get hit directly by a bolt\u2014only account for 3 to 5 percent of all lightning-related injuries. But ground strikes\u2014instances where people are shocked by electricity traveling through the ground\u2014account for up to 50 percent of injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re standing under a tree, you could be at potentially greater risk than if you were standing out in the open. That\u2019s because lightning is more likely to hit a 100-foot-tall tree than a 5-foot-tall person. And if it does, the hiker beneath it is first in line for the aftershock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf lightning hits the tree, the ground current will go down through the tree and then back up through the ground,\u201d Calhoun explains. If you\u2019re far from the trunk, the electricity may have time to disperse before it gets to you. But if you\u2019re right next to it, you\u2019ll get the brunt of the shock. Calhoun\u2019s recommendation: find a large patch of shorter trees of uniform height to stand under instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metal doesn\u2019t actually attract lightning.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLightning is not attracted to metal,\u201d Holle says. \u201cIt travels through metal, but it\u2019s not attracted to it.\u201d Lightning is only attracted to three things, he says: tall structures, isolated structures, and pointed structures. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if those structures are made of metal or wood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, if lightning hits a structure because it\u2019s tall, the metal material may conduct the lightning to the ground more quickly and therefore more powerfully than if it were wood or plastic. So, if you\u2019re at a campsite with a bear-hang pole, try not to pitch your tent near it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe metal can conduct electricity, which can jump to a tent 10 to 20 feet away,\u201d Calhoun says. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crouching can help\u2014but lying down makes things worse.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Crouching reduces your likelihood of being the tallest point on a landscape. But, paradoxically, lying down puts you in even more danger than standing up. That\u2019s because when you\u2019re lying down, you maximize your contact with the ground. That makes ground strikes more likely to affect you. It also makes it more likely that a ground strike could enter your body through a foot and exit through your arm or neck\u2014arcing through your heart along the way.
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A tent provides no shelter from lightning.<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are only two real places you\u2019re safe from lightning: in a real building with wiring or plumbing, which creates a Faraday cage<\/a> effect, or in a metal-topped vehicle,\u201d says Ron Holle, a meteorologist. A tent, however, provides no shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince 2006, more people have died [from lightning strikes] while camping in tents than while hiking by themselves,\u201d Calhoun says. \u201cYou also see these horrific accidents where numerous people are injured at once because they\u2019re in a confined area that gets struck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019re pitching a tent, put it somewhere you wouldn\u2019t mind standing in a storm: below treeline, away from tall ridges, and ideally between stands of uniformly tall trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiding in a cave is a bad idea.<\/b>
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If you\u2019re caught in a storm and encounter a dry cave or rocky overhang, you might think it a gift. Think again, Calhoun says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the electrical strike is traveling along the edge of a cliff and encounters the mouth of a cave, it\u2019s not going to take the trouble to travel around the roof of the cave to the floor. Instead, it\u2019s going to jump to you, and use your body as a shortcut. Sheltering from the rain might sound nice, but it\u2019s better to keep moving. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no such thing as getting \u201caccidentally\u201d caught in a storm. <\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou weren\u2019t \u2018caught\u2019 in a storm,\u201d Holle says. \u2018There was some error in your decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern weather forecasting is extremely accurate, he explains\u2014as long as you check the weather for your trail or peak, not for the nearest town. If the forecast calls for some chance of a storm, there\u2019s no excuse not to heed it. \u201cBut over and over again, I see people plan for a specific hike or fourteener or whatever, and they feel like they have to go on the day they\u2019ve set aside,\u201d he says. Summit fever is a big problem. And Holle suspects that people on average have less respect for lightning now than they did 10 or 20 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are so many more people doing these activities,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a new generation coming up that needs to be reminded of the risks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonus: Lightning Fun Facts<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lighting may be dangerous, but it\u2019s also one of nature\u2019s greatest wonders. Once you get to safety, feel free to sit back and marvel. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n