Dave & Maxine’s Bicycle Trek for Life & Breath.

Cycling safety during a thunderstorm.

Have you cycled in the open during a thunderstorm, and wondered how to avoid being struck by lightning? The most common advice is to “remain in your car with the windows closed”! Useless advice for cyclists! We asked an expert, Dr William Burrows, PhD - and here is his advice:

Prairie Lightning photo courtesy Andrea Schneider @ PrairieAngels

Essentially you have to be sure you are not the highest object around when a thunderstorm is overhead. You are likely safe in the situation where you are between narrow high walls of rock - but beware when you are in a wide open area such as the Canadian Prairies. The best idea is to be inside an object such as a building (maybe find a barn or other farm building). It will act like a Farraday cage, where the electrical charge can flow around the outside to ground - be sure you do not touch the sides. If you are in the open and there is nowhere to hide then you should get as low as possible by crouching in the ditch until the storm passes. Keep you bicycle several metres away from you. Do not stand under or near a tree - many people have been injured or killed when lightning strikes them by jumping out of the side of the tree, or when it runs a short distance from the tree through the ground and strikes them on the soles of their feet.

Bicycle tires are not going to help you much if lightning strikes you because they are too small and thin to insulate you against the massive electrical charge in a lightning bolt.

To judge when you are in danger remember the 30-30 rule. Take precautions if there is less than 30 seconds between seeing the flash and hearing thunder, and wait for 30 minutes after you see the last lightning. The reason for the 30 minute wait is there can be very strong lightning flashes out of the cirrus cloud anvil at the top of the storm. The anvil spreads out a long way from the central core of the storm, so you need to be sure it is not overhead.

William Burrows, PhD

Research Scientist

Cloud Physics and Severe Weather Research Section Downsview, ON and Hydrometeorology and Arctic Lab, Edmonton, AB

Adjunct Professor

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences University of Alberta

If you have any comments on this article, we would like to hear from you. Translations into other languages (via email) would also be welcome. Click here: Lightning comments

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