What to do in a thunderstorm?!!

[gaz]

Don't slow-motion videos show that lighting doesn't hit the ground. A separate 'stream' of lighting comes up from the ground and then meets the other

 

[Bodhbh]

once got caught up on Plynlimon in a storm. No trees up there so I was the tallest thing for miles around. terrified. After a couple of CGI special effect like strikes I threw the bike on the floor, ran a good distance away from it and hit the deck and lay face down with hands over my head/ears whilst the hail and then the rain lashed down on me.

Similar thing happened to me. Touring in Germany, I got caught up in one cycling along a ridge some 500m up. I dunno what the real risks are, but it did not seem a great idea to be tranversing this on a lump of metal in a storm, so ran off to find a hollow, dumped the frigging metal lump a good 20m away, then pitched the tent and cowered in there 40mins.

 

[kedab]

i have managed to avoid the thunderstorms by not going to work

before the storms made it to east anglia i did manage to clean my bike so it's all shiny and stuff and now it's not allowed out - it needed the clean as well, i was very bad and didn't dry, clean or lube the poor blighter after my last excursion in the moist weather
hope every one makes it home without incident - take care CC'ers

 

[fossyant]

still here !

 

[Andrew_P]

Glad I have a carbon

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Another option is to kneel on the ground with your bum in the air and your head down but not touching the ground.

Hmm, could I find an illustration of that in the Kama Sutra?!

Another good rule of thumb is the 30-30 rule. It goes something like this:
If the time between the moment you see the flash and the moment you hear the thunder is less than 30 seconds, find shelter.
If the lightning, after coming towards you, then starts to go away, don't assume you'll be safe - it can come back again. So, once the flash and the thunder are separated by more than 30 seconds, wait where you are for 30 minutes before leaving your shelter.

A good idea not to touch any of the bodywork and check they are actually metal body panels - many these days are composite and won't help.

Very good point.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Here's the definitive guide as to what to do in storms! Enjoy!

[media]

]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-1-MGBv_s&feature=related[/media]

 

[suecsi]

Still cracking on over South West London (Kingston) at the moment. Just checked my purse and I do have enough money for a taxi to the station if I want to be a wimp (the joys of a Brompton with a cover).

 

[rb58]

And keep your umbrella down whilst cycling.....

 

[deckertim]

I was struck by lightening once. It is not a good idea to stand watching a storm with your hands on top of a strand of barbed wire, which was on top of a six foot fence. I got flung in the air and landed on my back on the lawn. My family not realising what had happened had all ran into the house to escape the rain leaving me behind.

 

[buddha]

I just managed to beat the downpour by 30 seconds.
Expecting it to rain around 4pm (according to the reports) so planned an 80 mile ride. But looking at the sky, I cut it to 60 and somehow found the energy to 'sprint' home, as the lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
Gods of Rain and Thunder - I laugh in your face!

 

[ColinJ]

Went looking for dead cows onternet. The common theme seemed to be that they were either standing under a tree or next to a fence at the time

My dad once saw a lightning strike on a field of cows being herded by a farmer. The cows keeled over dead all around the farmer, but he was unhurt.

 

[rb58]

^^
Me too. I headed for Redhill to visit a colleague, got a text from him saying the the storm had already arrived there, so I turned tail and dashed home. Walked through the door literally as the rains started. Must be my lucky day - think I'll buy a lottery ticket! Got 25 miles in, so not a complete waste though!

 

[blockend]

Don't slow-motion videos show that lighting doesn't hit the ground. A separate 'stream' of lighting comes up from the ground and then meets the other

That's true. Leaders from ionised channels of air meet stepped leaders from the cloud. The brightest part of the stroke is the return. A number of ground objects can give off a leader and there's video evidence of near misses from people standing close to objects that give off a leader which aren't met by the downstroke, most lightning strikes are multiple strokes.


Usually lightning is negatively charged but a small percentage is positive and that's the stuff that can bring down aircraft. I once watched a massive anvil thunder cloud in Derbyshire from a distant hill. A huge horizontal lightning stroke travelled tens of miles to the west beyond the storm belt and earthed bellow clear blue sky, the fabled bolt from the blue.
I'm not at all convinced about the highest object theory. The house I grew up in was struck (it put the chimney through my bedroom ceiling) and that was surrounded by tall mill chimneys and higher houses on a ridge. Another house I lived had an electrical junction box in the garden hit and we were surrounded by hills and tall trees. I take thunderstorms pretty seriously if I'm on a bike.

 

[Mad at urage]

Cycling fast through a thunderstorm results in you having more chance of being struck by lightning:

If you move a metal object through a magnetic field, then if creates a potential, and therefore current flows. It is the principal that all generators work on.

An electrical charge causes a magnetic field around it - see electromagnets.

So, with the air ready for an electrical storm and all charged up, there is a magnetic field all around us. Passing a large metal item (say a bike frame) through this will cause it to get charged. The quicker the movement, the larger the charge. One end of the bike will be more negative, and one more positive. This will increase the potential from the charged clouds at one end, and a bigger potential across the same distance will mean that a discharge is more likely. Hence if lightning strikes, it will hit the bike, rather than the lesser charged surroundings.

Only two ways round this. One is to cycle slowly. The other is to get a carbon bike that will not generate a potential when moving through a magnetic field. Cycling slowly is clearly not an option, as you are getting cold and wet.

And that is the excuse that I am giving my wife this evening. Hopefully she won't see the holes in the physics.

Glad I have a carbon

Not convinced:
http://www.engr.utk....N%20FIBERS.html

" APPLICATIONS The two main applications of carbon fibers are in specialized technology, which includes aerospace and nuclear engineering, and in general engineering and transportation, which includes engineering components such as bearings, gears, cams, fan blades and automobile bodies. Recently, some new applications of carbon fibers have been found. Such as rehabilitation of a bridge [6] in building and construction industry. Others include: decoration in automotive, marine, general aviation interiors, general entertainment and musical instruments and after-market transportation products [7][sup]. [/sup]Conductivity in electronics technology provides additional new application. Table 2 illustrates some of the characteristics and applications of carbon fibers[8][sup] [/sup].

Table 3: Characteristics and Applications of Carbon Fibers​

1. Physical strength, specific toughness, light weight

Aerospace, road and marine transport, sporting goods

2. High dimensional stability, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and low abrasion

Missiles, aircraft brakes, aerospace antenna and support structure, large telescopes, optical benches, waveguides for stable high-frequency (GHz) precision measurement frames

3. Good vibration damping, strength, and toughness

Audio equipment, loudspeakers for Hi-fi equipment, pickup arms, robot arms

4. Electrical conductivity

Automobile hoods, novel tooling, casings and bases for electronic equipments, EMI and RF shielding, brushes

5. Biological inertness and x-ray permeability

Medical applications in prostheses, surgery and x-ray equipment, implants, tendon/ligament repair

6. Fatigue resistance, self-lubrication, high damping

Textile machinery, genera engineering

7. Chemical inertness, high corrosion resistance

Chemical industry; nuclear field; valves, seals, and pump components in process plants

8. Electromagnetic properties

Large generator retaining rings, radiological equipment

​

"
(OK so they got their table numbering wrong )