Protecting Outdoor Workers and Events from Lightning and Storms

Lightning kills about 20 people a year in the U.S. and injures hundreds more, and many of those events happen during outdoor work and recreation. For an employer or event organizer, that is both a safety obligation and a serious liability.

The challenge is that lightning can strike from a storm that is still miles away and not yet overhead, so “wait until it looks bad” is too late.

Objective, pre-set rules protect both people and the organization:

• Define a range: Stop work or begin evacuation when lightning is detected within a set radius (commonly 10 miles).
• Use the 30-30 rule: If thunder follows lightning by 30 seconds or less, seek shelter.
• Resume safely: Wait 30 minutes after the last strike before returning outdoors.
• Assign responsibility: One person monitors conditions and has the authority to call the stop.

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ZoneWatch tracks lightning per location in real time, with distance and bearing to the closest strike, so the person in charge knows exactly when a threshold is crossed. High-resolution radar shows the broader storm threat approaching the site.

Set alert zones around each job site or venue, and the call to stop, shelter, or resume becomes a clear, defensible decision.