I have learned in High School Physics Class (more than a quarter century ago) that the one and only reason that they clear the pool / deck is because people do hang on to metal structures in and around the pool (railings, ladders etc.), and these are perfect paths for lightning to strike to.
Hang on to a railing or ladder, and you get fried.....
SharkFM wrote:
nc452010 wrote:
The electricity's going to take the path of least resistance. If water is such a poor conductor, wouldn't that path be the surface?
In the case of pool/strike on water, the electrical current moves from the grounded plane or source of electrons (e.g. the body of water) up into the charged cloud. Impurities in water conduct. Very pure water - true is not a good conductor. The thing that makes lakes and pools bad is you are the obviously the point, kinda like a spark plug tip.
You can have small localized pockets of charged air - there is no way to predict location or how intense they are. The odds are slim, but when I see activity - I'm out.
We had several lightning strikes around our lake in Ontario . What a light show. Trees mostly, some split in 1/2. There was also a kid that got zapped in a canoe trying to head home in a storm. Got a good buzz but he was OK.