If you get stuck outside during a storm, try getting into your car.
Bad weather is raging across Italy these days, often causing extensive damage to buildings, land and even people. We have already talked in a previous article about why they “predict”, so to speak, the arrival of a storm. Today we try to understand where it is most appropriate to take refuge when you are outdoors during a storm.
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Before lightning strikesthe strong electric field under a thundercloud causes the ionization of air, as electrons are stripped away from air molecules. But this is not a clean or uniform process: electric field fluctuations and impurities in the air result in irregular paths of ionized air descending from the cloud towards the ground. These are called step leader.
Which objects are struck by lightning
As you approach the surface, the electric field surrounding the step leader causes objects on the ground to emit oppositely charged energy. Taller objects with pointed or sharp edges are more likely to trigger an electrical discharge. The first discharge that reaches one step leader descending completes the circuit. All of this means that tall, sharp objects that are alone in an open space are more likely to be hit, but this is by no means a certainty. Flat ground next to a tall tree can sometimes be affected.
Where to take refuge during a storm
A car or other enclosed metal structure is the safest place to be during a storm. Alternatively, a ditch, trench, or clump of shrubs of uniform height is better than nothing. Keep away from border areas between different terrains (water and land; rock and earth; trees and fields). Also keep at least five meters away from metal objects or other people, as lightning often jumps from one object to another.
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