Seems to me that lightning would strike a nearby building/tree before me when I am in an outdoor pool.
For a lake I guess I could be the highest thing to hit but only by a very small margin. Never heard of a single death by lightning so it’s probably not as dangerous as riding my bike on a road shared by cars.
Hmmmm…unless you’re swimming in lake more pure than the water in the Dasani bottle in your hand…this is Darwin award material. Physics is your friend…
Oh, I’m sure it’s totally fine. What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Most (maybe all?) INDOOR pools require you to vacate them when T-storms are in the area.
I’m sure being OUTDOORS would be much, much safer.
PS - “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” is probably #2 on the Darwin Awards ‘Final Words’ list, just below:
“Hey guys! Watch this!” 
Most (maybe all?) INDOOR pools require you to vacate them when T-storms are in the area.
Never understood why I had to vacate the pool, but I could use the shower…
I note for the record that in my minor experience near lakes I have never witnessed a lightning strike which killed any fish, or people for that matter but as the fish spend more time in the lake than most people I thought it was significant.
I note for the record that in my minor experience near lakes I have never witnessed a lightning strike which killed any fish, or people for that matter but as the fish spend more time in the lake than most people I thought it was significant.
That’s because the current/voltage travels along the surface of the water, not through it.
The pool rules comes from some national standard that has been posted on ST when this came up earlier. It is in fact a standard/recommendation, and regardless of the reasoning behind it no pool is going to take a chance and violate a national standard/recommendation.
That standard also recommends not using the shower for the same reason, but no one or health club I have ever been in follows that rule.
My guess is that it was possible to get electrocuted by lightning (and probably still is) in pools and building built to old standards but is now very unlikely. Of course, it only takes one time to really mess up your training day.
Let me guess, you are also thinking that your ‘rubberized’ wetsuit will help protect you from the voltage. When it comes to that much power, do you really want to risk it for a few hundred yards of training?
I think most indoor pool do NOT clear the pool for lightning.
They do at our local indoor pool.
found this article; which seems to have a fairly pragmatic take on the matter.
I think most indoor pool do NOT clear the pool for lightning.
Maybe it just never happened that there was lightning while I was there but it never happened to me in an indoor pool. I think that’s a purely USA urban legend.
As for outdoor pools and lake I think it’s forbidden by lifeguards everywhere but I am not sure it’s justified. I have NEVER heard of a single death by lightning in the water but I have heard of several while just walking outside during a storm.
They for sure close the indoor pool at the YMCAs near me when there is lightning in the area.
I think most indoor pool do NOT clear the pool for lightning.
Maybe it just never happened that there was lightning while I was there but it never happened to me in an indoor pool. I think that’s a purely USA urban legend.
As for outdoor pools and lake I think it’s forbidden by lifeguards everywhere but I am not sure it’s justified. I have NEVER heard of a single death by lightning in the water but I have heard of several while just walking outside during a storm.
There’s never been a death by lightning in an indoor pool that’s been recorded. There have been deaths due to swimming outdoors during lightning storms.
Personally? I’d get the hell out of the water if there was lightning. Statistically, the lightning’s unlikely to strike the surface of the water but why take the chance?
Never heard of a single death by lightning so it’s probably not as dangerous as riding my bike on a road shared by cars.
You have to consider the number of man hours spent doing both activities. The lack of recorded deaths while swimming outdoors in lightning storms is likely due to the fact that very few people do it and those that do, don’t do it for very long. I suspect that if we loaded up pools and lakes during lightning storms so that we approached the same number of man hours spent riding on roads with cars, the death rate would be significant.
Good luck.
It is only dangerous if you are allergic to lightning. Otherwise, you will be fine…
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/6080845/
http://www.glenallenweather.com/historylinks/history2/Lightning-The%20Underrated%20Killer.pdf Page 6
http://www.weatherquesting.com/lightning-kills-swimmers.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F60717FE3A5E10738DDDAB0894D1405B8585F0D3
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080616/NEWS/806160314
Just a quick google search…I would stay out of the water when storms roll in…
Never heard of a single death by lightning so it’s probably not as dangerous as riding my bike on a road shared by cars.
You have to consider the number of man hours spent doing both activities. The lack of recorded deaths while swimming outdoors in lightning storms is likely due to the fact that very few people do it and those that do, don’t do it for very long. I suspect that if we loaded up pools and lakes during lightning storms so that we approached the same number of man hours spent riding on roads with cars, the death rate would be significant.
Good luck.
You also forgot that the reason they have not heard of a death is because the rules get the swimmers out. Seems like the removal of the swimmers from pools is working, no?
http://www.wral.com/...riefs/story/6080845/
http://www.glenallenweather.com/...errated%20Killer.pdf Page 6
http://www.weatherquesting.com/...g-kills-swimmers.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/...AB0894D1405B8585F0D3
http://www.poconorecord.com/...80616/NEWS/806160314
Just a quick google search…I would stay out of the water when storms roll in…
I like the story from the 1800’s!
I have personally witnessed a lightning strike on the surface of the ocean (while fishing about 20 miles off Hatteras, NC). I can say with complete certainty that I would NOT have wanted to be swimming nearby!
Are there ANY outdoor activities that are safe while lightning is present? Isn’t this very premise of this thread just, well, silly?
Apparently lightning can skim across the surface of a lake for more than a mile. One of the biggest scares I ever had was scuba diving on a wreck in Lake Ontario. It was nice when we went under but came up a half hour later in the middle of a thunder/lightning storm. I remember lining up to get back on the boat bobbing up and down on the surface with a metal scuba tank on my back thinking this is not a good place to be.