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This is my first post. Sorry it's an old thread, but as I have an aquaintance who's been in ICU for three months after a lightning strike and so few people take it seriously, this is a subject I think is important.

Above is some great advice. I think it is important to note that there is no "right way" to sit in the open, though. Some current training suggests lying flat! Every lightning strike is unique in its properties. The best "new" advice is based on the hypothetical average in an effort to increase survivability, and what is "current" seems to change rapidly.

Here's my advice:

1) Recognize the threat of debris from a lightning strike. I have seen splinter debris measuring up to 12-inches long thrown 300-feet from a struck, mature ponderosa pine. There's more than one reason to avoid trees in an electrical storm.

2) If you can hear thunder, you could get struck by lightning.

3) If you seek shelter in a vehicle or structure, keep the windows closed no matter what.

4) If your AO is prone to lightning issues and you want to plan around them, consider investing in a lightning meter...then establish a threshold (distance) for lightning strikes where you will call lightning precautions. This is of course dictated by the nature of your mission.

5) Do not neglect solid rock shelters where they occur. Caves, overhangs near the base or midway up rock faces, etc. are about your best open shelter.

6) If you seek low ground, be aware of your environment. In the desert, for example, flash floods kill more people than lightning. But not every drainage is "flashy".

7) Spread out. Lightning strikes do not always kill, but they always hurt people within a certain radius of the strike. Medical aid might prevent death.