The Met Office currently has an amber weather warning spanning across the Midlands and Wales. Thunderstorms accompanied by torrential rain, frequent lightning and some hail have been reported. Although thunderstorms are not prolific in the UK, as with all weather systems, it is a hot topic when they do occur. Some discuss Thunderstorms with exhilaration but many people also feel anxious or fearful of the dangers involved. The big question then is where are you safest whilst a thunderstorm is in progress?
Simply put, the safest place to be in a thunderstorm is indoors. If lightning does happen to directly strike a house or a building, it will tend to follow the available paths to ground, including the wiring, plumbing, antennas and/or steel framework. But if no structural shelter is available, hard-topped cars can offer sufficient lightning protection.
What happens when lightning strikes a car?
Many people believe that it is the rubber tyres on cars that keep you safe in the event of a lightning strike, this however is a bit of a myth. In actual fact a car (excluding soft tops) acts like a faraday cage with the lightning flowing around the car. The majority of the current flows from the car’s metal cage into the ground below. This is why cars are often referred to as being a safe place to be in a thunderstorm, if you cannot get indoors.
But if your car does get hit by lightning in a thunderstorm, you probably would see damage to the vehicle as a result. Most lightning incidents to cars result in external damage, as well as internal damage to electronic systems, but in most cases no injury to the people inside.
So in summary, if you are stuck outdoors in a thunderstorm then your car is a pretty safe place to go and take shelter. Just remember, try to avoid touching anything metal within the car and try not to use electrical components within the car such as radios or charging points for phones. But above all enjoy the beauty of a thunderstorm, they really don’t happen that often in the UK.