is it dangerous to take showers during lightning thunderstorms?

When lightning strikes a home or building, it usually follows metal wires and/or pipes. For that reason, you should avoid contact with anything that plugs into a wall outlet or any plumbing in the home. Also stay off corded phones. You asked specifically about showers and tubs. These are connected to the plumbing of the home and should be avoided. Over the past several years, I’ve seen a number of incidents involving the laundry area (either washers or dryers). Because these are connected to both wiring and/or plumbing, they are particularly dangerous. Also, there have been a cases involving people at sinks and in swimming pools.

Absolutely not. There is not one speck of evidence that there is any danger by showering during a lightning or thunderstorm. For those who warned you of the dangers of such action please ask THEM to provide one verifiable instance when a person has been killed by lightning traveling down the metal pipes and arcing across the showerhead into the chest of an innocent individuals showering. They will never produce even one example in the history of the human race. You are in more danger of getting hit with a foul ball while watching a TELEVISED baseball game in your living room than getting struck by lightning while showering.

Disaster and Emergency Management Resources

What to Tell Children about Thunderstorms and Lightning

The sound of thunder can be especially frightening for young children. Take the

"scariness" away by teaching them what to expect during a thunderstorm and how to be

safe.

· Postpone outdoor activities if thunderstorms are likely. Many people take shelter

from the rain, but most people struck by lightning are not in the rain! Postponing

activities is your best way to avoid being caught in a dangerous situation.

· If you see or hear a thunderstorm coming, go inside a sturdy building or car.

Sturdy buildings are the safest place to be. If no building is nearby, a hard-topped

vehicle will offer some protection. Keep car windows closed and avoid

convertibles. Rubber-soled shoes and rubber tires provide no protection from

lightning. However, the steel frame of a hard-topped vehicle provides increased

protection if you are not touching metal. Although you may be injured if lightning

strikes your car, you are much safer inside a vehicle than outside.

· If you can't get inside, or if you feel your hair stand on end, which means

lightning is about to strike, hurry to a low, open space immediately. Crouch down

on the balls of your feet, place your hands on your knees and lower your head.

Make yourself the smallest target possible and minimize contact with the ground.

· Practice the "crouch down" position. Show children how to practice squatting low

to the ground to be the smallest target possible for lightning in case they get

caught outside in a thunderstorm. Show them how to place their hands on their

knees and lower their head, crouching on the balls of their feet.

· Stay away from tall things like trees, towers, fences, telephone lines, and power

lines. They attract lightning. Never stand underneath a single large tree out in the

open, because lightning usually strikes the highest point in an area.

· Stay away from metal things that lightning may strike, such as umbrellas, baseball

bats, fishing rods, camping equipment, and bicycles. Lightning is attracted to

metal and poles or rods.

WVU Extension Service Disaster and Emergency Management Resources

What to Tell Children about Thunderstorms and Lightning

Section 4.4 Page 1

· If boating or swimming, get to land immediately. Stay away from rivers, lakes,

and other bodies of water and get off the beach. Saturated sand conducts

electricity very well. Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. When

lightning strikes nearby, the electrical charge can travel through the water. Each

year people are killed by nearby lightning strikes while they are in or on the water

or on the beach.

· Turn off the air conditioner and television and stay off the phone until the storm is

over. Lightning can cause electric appliances, including televisions and

telephones, to become dangerous during a thunderstorm.

· Stay away from running water inside the house; avoid washing your hands and

taking a bath or shower. Electricity from lightning has been known to come inside

through plumbing.

· Keep an eye on the sky. Pay attention to weather clues around you that may warn

of imminent danger. Look for darkening skies, flashes of lightning, or increasing

wind, which may be signs of an approaching thunderstorm.

· Stay aware of your surroundings. Look for places you might go should severe

weather threaten.

· Listen for the sound of thunder. If you can hear thunder, you are close enough to

the storm to be struck by lightning. Go to safe shelter immediately.

Adapted from resource material developed by the Federal Emergency Management

Agency and the National Weather Service

WVU Extension Service Disaster and Emergency Management Resources

What to Tell Children about Thunderstorms and Lightning

Section 4.4 Page 2

Yes , there is a possibility of u being stuck by lightnin whiles showering in an electrical storm. Reasons being as many had said it is through the piping or plumbing system but also to protect yourself n minimise the possibilities make sure your house is (Earth Grounded )good

I have taken many showers in thunderstorms with no problems. Does this mean it can't/doesn't happen? No. I would say it's possible but very unlikely.

Its about as dangerous as peeing on a tree during a lightning storm. You just have to wonder if its your time to fry, while your doing it.

Yes. Lightning could strike the water standpipe that sticks out of the roof and transmit current all thru the plumbing system, and arc out of the showerhead onto you. It's unlikely but it could happen.

I have actually gotten a shock by a shower, right where the water was hitting my back. If it was from lightening, I couldn't say. It was many years ago and I don't remember what the weather was like.

i think it best that you ask a person that has been struck by lightning while taking a shower. then again,no such person ever lived to tell the tale

I don't think so i mean i have taken a shower during thunder storms.