Worried about lightening

[musicinspring1]

Hi - I'm camping in the UK next week and can see on the forecast thunder and lightning. I've camped before but only in fair weather - I'm not worried about rain but the safety aspect of lightening is now worrying me. We have DC and some of their friends with us so i feel very responsible for their safety.
Lightening is forecast at the moment for 1 morning of the week.
Any advice from those who have experienced this weather in the past? E.g. did you actually abandon tents and find other shelter during a lightening storm?
Thanks.

Other shelter? So there are buildings nearby?

If so, THEY WILL GET HIT, NOT YOU. Tents are pretty low to the ground (even enormous ones, relative to buildings) so unless you are right on top of a hill, you should be fine. Don't camp under trees (good advice whatever the weather).

Signed - someone who spends at least a month every year under canvas on top of a hill (no choice, it's where the activity holiday is!)

PS We're not going to the same place, are we? Music in tents is pretty rare....

Hi @weirdoboelady thanks for the reply . Yes there are brick buildings around (toilet blocks / etc) So a low tent away from trees would be OK even with the metal poles and pegs ? Because height is more important as a target / conductor ?
I should have paid more attention in science 😂

Well, I realised that most of my lightening 'knowledge' was based on poorly remembered school stuff as well, so I Googled.

The site below reassured me - after all, tall buildings have lightening conductors on them for a reason! I've been camping loads for over 40 years and never heard of anyone being hit. The site below does recommend keeping away from metal tent poles and pegs (most tents nowadays don't have metal poles, although I must admit my current one does. But I have plenty of room to stay away from them!) And yes, I can remember camping through some extreme storms, and curling up in the middle of a tiny tent because common sense told me to keep away from the edges. But I stress again - 'my' camping place is on the top of a v high hill, and touch wood no-one has ever been hit. The advice is to squat down if you feel a lightening strike is imminent - lying down in a tent (ideally not on a metal camping bed, I guess) is probably actually a pretty good posture.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/seasonal-advice/health-wellbeing/stay-safe-in-thunder-and-lightning

We once slept in a tent through an insane French thunderstorm in July.

I put my flip flops on to make sure I was grounded if we got hit 😂

You'll be fine, as will those with you. Have fun camping!

Ground strike can happen.

Last year with a spectacular storm directly overhead I got into my car until it had passed. A car is a Faraday Cage and provides protection.

If you have the kind of tent with metal spikes going through the roof (e.g some bell tents, Dutch pyramid tents) you can get lightening caps - they look jolly, too
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tiardey-Combination-Lightning-Protector-Backpacker/dp/B09DFKNV4G/ref=asc_df_B09DFKNV4G/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606797194451&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8629765025662782655&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045909&hvtargid=pla-1652503112802&psc=1 (cheaper are available)

A couple of times when the storm has been directly overhead and we’ve been on an open campsite we’ve retreated to the faraday cage as we have a tall central metal pole.

This is advice from the Canadian Gvt - where both thunderstorms and camping are common
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/lightning/safety/camping.html#:~:text=Back%20Country%20Camping&text=However%2C%20there%20is%20no%20safe,terrain%20before%20a%20thunderstorm%20arrives.

Last year we had an epic lightning storm for about 40 mins. Bloody thing kept circling and coming back, about midnight.
I made everyone get up and get in the car till it had gone. Our site wasn't hit but I don't regret it.

Wow, this has turned into a really interesting thread. I still feel that lying on a rubber airbed is a good move, although it does look as if an old fashioned car might be safer still.

'Old fashioned?' I hear you ask. I wonder about electric cars and exploding batteries.... an update probably needed here, I feel.

I am conscious that a tent is very much my 'safe space'. I was really upset when that boy was killed by a polar bear while lying in his tent.

Really interesting- thanks all, I appreciate it. Good to know about the car being a recommended option too.

Any car would be safe as it acts as a Faraday cage. A lightening strike won't magically close the traction battery relays on electric car and overcharge it, causing an explosion.

As above car is the safest place

I don’t stay in my tent in a thunderstorm! Really not a good idea!! Get the lightening tracker app, then you can see how close the storm is. Go in your car or the toilet block if you don’t have a car. You won’t be asleep anyway, so you might as well be awake and safe.

A tent under trees isn’t safe because a tree might get hit, but away from trees is also not safe because then the tent might get hit.

Hope your trip went well. We camped a little before you and had thunderstorms at night about half the time. It had never occurred to me that we might be a target. There's a huge office/shop/toilet block in the middle of the field so just assumed they'd get it first.

Hope you had a nice time

Yes back home now @SiouxsieSiouxStiletto and had a great time thank you - no lightening in the end , just extreme winds ! But tent held up and all good. Advice has been useful for future trips though !

I remember when I was about 21 (a lot of years ago now!) camping in the Back Forest in Bavaria in a small, two person tent with metal poles, right next to a tree. I nodded off with my head next to one of the poles.

I was on my own, it was pitch dark and in the middle of the night I was woken by the most appalling thunderstorm directly overhead, lightening flashes, the lot. It was one of the hairier experiences of my life. I survived unscathed, thankfully, but I didn't get a lot of sleep that night!

We have a horrible storm story too. In France in a huge storm, the tent next to us had tied a metal washing line to the boundary fence of the campsite, which was also made of ..... Metal.

Lightning hit the boundary fence and ran up the washing line and over the tent. The tent vaguely caught fire by the poles and had some holes in it, (but the whole thing didn't go up in flames).

It tripped out the whole campsite though and that didn't get fixed til the morning. it was a long night in the rain and black with 3 screaming toddlers...