Lightning Safety

Before you can do any outdoor archery, first you need to be outdoors. And being outdoors means being aware of how to be safe outdoors. Last week there was a lightning strike at an archery event in New Jersey, which is a good enough reason to focus on lightning safety.

Lightning

Lightning can travel up to 10 miles away from a storm cloud and still strike the ground.
It is considered unsafe to be outdoors if lightning is within 6-10 miles.
It takes the sound of thunder about 5 seconds to travel a mile. You can use this to estimate the distance of lightning by counting from the time of the lightning flash until you hear the thunder.
If the thunder it within 30 seconds of the lighting, that’s 6 miles. Seek shelter.
You can usually only hear thunder from up to 10 miles away. So if you can hear the thunder, you can be hit by the lightning.

Safety

A metal-topped car with the windows up is a good lightning shelter.
- (A cloth-top convertible is not a good shelter)
A substantial building with wiring and plumbing is a good lightning shelter.
A tent, carport, shed, detached garage or dugout is NOT a good lightning shelter
Stay in shelter for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
Many smartphone apps exist that track lightning strikes and can notify you of approaching lightning-generating weather.

ITAA state tournament events (and events from our friends at the FAI, as well) are equipped with a lighting detector alarm. It detects lighting directly without waiting for phone notifications, and we will pause events and clear the competition field during times of lighting danger.