Lightning Travel In Water
Even at 300 feet 100 metres away this is still dangerous.
Lightning travel in water. You are at much greater risk if you are protruding above the water in a boat or on a windsurf board as I once was during a lightning. Edit A lot of people are asking if salt water or fresh water makes a difference. Lightning current may enter a building and transfer through wires.
Lightning can travel through plumbing. Well we have an answer from the World Meteorological Organization. This doesnt prove that youre safer in the water than on a boat as we dont know the relative number of people involved in each activity but the bottom line is that you can definitely be killed by lightning while on or in the water.
Extremely high voltage from lightning doesnt follow conductors necessarily and it tends to travel on the surface of what ever it is following. Do NOT bathe shower wash dishes or have any other contact with water during a thunderstorm because lightning can travel through a buildings plumbing. Phone use is the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries in the United States.
This is why there arent dozens of dead fish popping up after every storm. Waters just off coasts are more often affected. Do NOT bathe shower wash dishes or have any other contact with water during a thunderstorm.
It is not always possible to know exactly how a victim has been struck but here is a list of ways that lightning strikes its victims. Water and metal are excellent conductors of electricity. Lightning can also travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring.
Research by Nasa shows lightning is more likely to hit land than sea and that it is rare for strikes to occur in deep ocean areas. The lightning current can travel even farther through water metal fences power lines or plumbing. Any of these types of strikes can be deadly.