NYS Offers Thunderstorm Safety Tips

Download NY-Alert:

NY-Alert is the state’s free, subscription based, customizable, all-hazards alerting system. Alerts, such as important information regarding severe weather, can be emailed and also pushed to your cell phone via text message. To subscribe, visit the NY-Alert website at: https://www.nyalert.gov/. For more information on NY-Alert, visit the FAQ page at: https://www.nyalert.gov/faq.

Before the storm hits:

• Tie down or bring inside lawn furniture, trash cans, tools and hanging plants that could be projectiles during the storm.

• If you have a basement, check sump pumps to ensure they are operating and be prepared to use a backup system.

• Have a standby generator or alternative source of power available.

• Check on neighbors, especially the elderly and disabled.

As the storm approaches:

• Stay inside, away from windows and glass doors.

• Charge your cell phones and important electronic devices

• Stay off roads. If you are traveling, find safe shelter immediately.

If you must travel:

• Do not attempt to drive over flooded roads turn around and go another way. Water moving at two miles per hour can sweep cars off a road or bridge.

• Watch for areas where rivers or streams may suddenly rise and flood, such as highway dips, bridges, and low areas.

• If you are in your car and water begins to rise rapidly around you, abandon the vehicle immediately.

If You Are Outdoors

• Keep an eye on the sky. Look for darkening skies, flashes of lightning, or increasing wind, which may be signs of an approaching thunderstorm.

• Listen for the sound of thunder. Even when the sky looks blue and clear, be cautious. Lightning can travel sideways for up to 10 miles. If you can hear thunder, go to a safe shelter immediately.

• When lightning is seen or thunder is heard, or when dark clouds are observed, postpone activities promptly. Don’t wait for rain. Lightning often strikes as far as 10 miles away from any rainfall. Go quickly inside a completely enclosed building. If no enclosed building is convenient, get inside a hard-topped all-metal vehicle.

• The principle lightning safety guide is the 30-30 rule. The first 30 represents 30 seconds. If the time between when you see the flash and hear the thunder is 30 seconds or less, the lightning is close enough to hit you. If you haven’t already, seek shelter immediately. The second 30 stands for 30 minutes. After the last flash of lightning, wait 30 minutes before leaving your shelter.

• If you see or hear a thunderstorm coming or your hair stands on end, immediately stop your activity, suspend your game or practice, and instruct everyone to go inside a sturdy building or car.

• Be the lowest point. Lightning hits the tallest object. In the mountains if you are above tree line, you ARE the highest object around. Quickly get below tree line and get into a grove of small trees. Don’t be the second tallest object during a lightning storm! Crouch down if you are in an exposed area.

• Avoid leaning against vehicles. Get off bicycles and motorcycles.

• Get out of the water, off the beach and out of small boats or canoes. If caught in a boat, crouch down in the center of the boat away from metal hardware. Avoid standing in puddles of water, even if wearing rubber boots.

• Avoid metal. Drop metal backpacks and stay away from clotheslines, fences, and exposed sheds. Don’t hold on to metal items such golf clubs, fishing rods, tennis rackets or tools. Large metal objects can conduct lightning. Small metal objects can cause burns.

• Move away from a group of people. Stay several yards away from other people. Don’t share a bleacher bench or huddle in a group.

If You Are Indoors

• If you have one, avoid contact with corded phones. Phone use is the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries in the United States. Lightning can travel long distances in both phone and electrical wires, particularly in rural areas.

• Stay away from windows and doors and stay off porches as these can provide the path for a direct strike to enter a home.

• Avoid contact with electrical equipment or cords. If you plan to unplug any electronic equipment, do so well before the storm arrives.

• Avoid contact with plumbing. Do not wash your hands, do not take a shower, do not wash dishes, and do not do laundry.

• Do not lie on the concrete floor of a garage as it likely contains a wire mesh. In general, basements are a safe place to go during thunderstorms. However, avoid contact with concrete walls that may contain metal reinforcing bars.

• Bring your pets indoors before the storm. Dog houses are not lightning-safe. Dogs that are chained to trees or chained to wire runners can easily fall victim to a lightning strike.

If you lose electrical service:

• Call your utility first to determine area repair schedules. Turn off or unplug lights and appliances to prevent a circuit overload when service is restored. Leave one light on to indicate power has been restored.

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to help reduce food spoilage.

• If you have space in your refrigerator or freezer, fill plastic containers with water, leaving an inch of space inside each one. This will help keep food cold

If you need to use a generator:

• Before installing a generator, be sure to properly disconnect from your utility electrical service. If possible, have your generator installed by a qualified electrician.

• Run generators outside, downwind of structures. Never run a generator indoors. Deadly carbon monoxide gas from the generator’s exhaust can spread throughout enclosed spaces.

• Fuel spilled on a hot generator can cause an explosion. If your generator has a detachable fuel tank remove it before refilling. If this is not possible, shut off the generator and let it cool before refilling.

• Do not exceed the rated capacity of your generator. Most small, home-use portable generators produce 350 to 12,000 watts of power. Overloading your generator can damage it and appliances connected to it, and may cause a fire. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Keep children away from generators at all times.

Avoid carbon monoxide poisoning:

• Do not operate generators indoors; the motor emits deadly carbon monoxide gas.

• Do not use charcoal to cook indoors. It, too, can cause a buildup of carbon monoxide gas.

• Do not use your gas oven to heat your home -- prolonged use of an open oven in a closed house can create carbon monoxide gas.

• Install a carbon monoxide alarm.

For more safety information, visit the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services website at: http://www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/safety-info/index.cfm.