If you have ever been caught hiking on a mountain ridge or fishing on a lake or swimming in any body of water when a thunderstorm rolls up, you know that internal sense of worry that gnaws on you, particularly if the storm has a lot of active lightning.

The good news is you are relatively safe from getting struck if you are outdoors if you take the proper precautions.

The bad news is that if you are outdoors, there is no way to completely eliminate the chance you might get struck by lightning, even if you take as many precautions as possible.

The only way to avoid entirely getting struck by lightning is to get into a substantial structure, such as a building and stay away from doors and windows until the storm passes.

You can, however, greatly reduce the chances of getting struck if you are outdoors by following the advice on the next page.

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