It is important to remember how to stay safe if there is lightning and avoid getting injured, though the chances of getting struck are very low. The CDC recommends a variety of indoor and outdoor safety tips if you are stuck in a storm:

Safety precautions outdoors

• If the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, postpone your trip or activity.
• Remember: When thunder roars, go indoors. Find a safe, enclosed shelter.
• Don’t forget the 30-30 rule. After you see lightning, start counting to 30. If you hear thunder before you reach 30, go indoors. Suspend activities for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
• If no shelter is available, crouch low, with as little of your body touching the ground as possible. Lightning causes electric currents along the top of the ground that can be deadly over 100 feet away.
• Stay away from concrete floors or walls. Lightning can travel through any metal wires or bars in concrete walls or flooring.Although you should move into a non-concrete structure if possible, being indoors does not automatically protect you from lightning. In fact, about one-third of lightning-strike injuries occur indoors.

Safety precautions indoors

• Avoid water during a thunderstorm. Lightning can travel through plumbing.
• Avoid electronic equipment of all types. Lightning can travel through electrical systems and radio and television reception systems.
• Avoid corded phones. However, cordless or cellular phones are safe to use during a storm.
• Avoid concrete floors and walls.

Lightning strikes are rare, but it is important to stay safe, especially in a state like Colorado where storm happen often.

AboutBoulder-admin