[Nammu]

I've always had great respect for Mother Nature and have loved thunder storms all my life. But recently I've gotten frightened of lightning. It starts lightning, I won't watch tv, use my computer wash clothes ect. There have been a spate of news article recently about people stuck by lightning in their homes, one woman was sitting in her living room on the couch, in the middle of the room, talking to her mother when lightning followed a pipe and then came though a lighting fixture. Recently a group of boys playing a sport in sun shine with a storm about 10 miles away were hit out of the blue by lightning.

Are people just becoming stupider about safty, how they build houses, roam around outside and stand by windows or has lightning gotten more dangerous. Am I just being to paranoid about this?

[SnakeCharmer]

I wouldn't say you were paranoid over nothing, but there are plenty of everyday activities that pose a greater risk than lightening.

I'm pretty sure the problem is we now hear about these things because there are so many news outlets and "weird news" is one of the most popular features. If someone gets hit by lightening in their own home, it's definitely weird. That's why it makes the news. It's such a rare event.

We also have a bigger population -- over 300 million. And news outlets didn't used to report too much on human interest stories about poor people or people of color. That's all changed. We didn't used to hear about it. Now we do.

But with that said, if it starts to thunder or storm, I turn off my computer, stay off the phone and don't go outside. I actually was struck by lightening about 20 years ago and honestly and truly it was no fun. But I was standing outside in a meadow when the lightening hit and I was the tallest thing around. That's behavior I avoid these days.

It took me a few years to stop feeling paranoid about lightening. I read extensively on the risk factors and what I could do to lessen the risk. Slowly, I got over my fear. I spend a lot of time outdoors. I check weather reports before going hiking. I avoid certain activities, like rock climbing and walking on the beach in stormy weather. Those two activities are risky for lightening strikes.

In the last 20 years lightening has never even come close to me. But if I heard thunder right now, I'd close my computer down without typing another word and I'd stay away from the land line phone. And out of the shower and away from the kitchen sink. And I wouldn't stand in front of a window looking at the storm.

Here's an article from NOAA on how to avoid the risk of lightening strike.

NOAA's Lightning Safety

Below is info from Snopes.com, the debunker of urban legends. Lightening is no urban legend. In my opinion, this info isn't just for us paranoids. It's important safety info for everyone and parents would be wise to teach their children these safety tips.

As to how to remain safe indoors during a thunderstorm:

Stay away from windows, because lightning bolts can enter the home through cracks around the sides of windows.

Don't take baths or showers, brush your teeth, do dishes, or in any other way put yourself in contact with your plumbing.

Stay off landlines. Use a cell phone instead. Landline phones are the number one cause for injuries from lightning inside the home.

Do not lie on concrete floors and do not lean against concrete walls.

Don't touch electrical equipment or cords. That includes not touching the refrigerator or stove.

Keep windows and doors closed during electrical storms.

Read more at snopes.com: Bath During Thunderstorm

Well, I was never very concerned about lightning...then I recently read Alice Hoffman's novel "The Ice Queen" (it's a rather dull book, btw). The story is about people who have been struck by lightning and the effects of it. Kinda spooked me...now I feel afraid of lightning But I find myself afraid of all sorts of thing that never used to scare me, so I'm not sure what to tell you, sidestepper. That article SnakeCharmer posted a link to is really good. I guess it's like most things in life: you have to use common sense. Also, your location makes a big difference when it comes to lightning dangers.

[Hellion]

You could plug your electronics into surge protectors since that can help protect electronics from things like lightning or sudden power surges or whatever...though if there is heavy lightning even with that you might want to turn things off during the storm and I suppose just watch the storm. I have my important things plugged into surge protectors a couple things that aren't. I know the lightning issue was worse when I was living in the mountains and fried our internet modem box numerous times but that hasn't happened since I moved around Denver so it can also depend on the area....also one time when I was in the mountains walking and it started raining there was a lighting strike right next to me could feel the energy from it, and was pretty glad it didn't hit me.

[Nammu]

I do have surge protectors on most things. I reluctant to unplug things anymore as most of them require reprogramming. I bought the surge protectors because the electricity goes out an awfully lot here, like if it gets too windy. Not something I expected in a big city.

Thanks snakecharmer for the article.