ok, this is the second time in the past two weeks I've not been able to go swim due to thunderstorm activity.
Now don't get me wrong.. I LOOOOOVE Thunderstorms, but not being able to swim when you've looked forward to doing so since the previous evening is just no fun at all. :mad:
I was literally out the building and on my way to the Y when an clap of thunder abruptly stopped me in my tracks.. I just turned right around and went back into the building. (and onto the discussion boards of course! lol)
Anyone else go to indoor pools that close during storms? In Oklahoma during spring and early summer it sometimes ends up being like a hail mary to decide to go to practice in hopes that there won't be a storm.:rolleyes:
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by Allen Stark
If the pool is indoors and the building has a metal frame,it's SAFE!!! Not just probably safe,but completely safe.(unless someone runs a power line from the outside into the pool.) I work in a construction project office that is tasked with the design and construction of various building projects. I took this problem to the certified architect, electrical and civil engineers here at my office. Buildings, including metal frame ones, must have a lightning arrestor system (lightning rods) and necessary grounding to protect the building from lightening strikes. (Given the capricious nature of lightning, arrestor systems are not as simple as one would think.) Unless you can be absolutely sure the building properly incorporates such a system, it is not advisable to be in a pool within the building during such a storm. Also, lightning can travel through underground piping and wiring from other sources, such as adjacent buildings. It just makes common sense to get out, move out of the area and wait for the storm to pass. I've been in the pool where I swim when fierce storm came up one night and the pool was cleared out. Good thing. We saw a bright flash, heard a snap (electrical discharge), then sizzle and then a hugh boom. Lightning had struck very closely to the building enclosing the pool. No one was in it at the time. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.
Originally posted by Allen Stark
If the pool is indoors and the building has a metal frame,it's SAFE!!! Not just probably safe,but completely safe.(unless someone runs a power line from the outside into the pool.) I work in a construction project office that is tasked with the design and construction of various building projects. I took this problem to the certified architect, electrical and civil engineers here at my office. Buildings, including metal frame ones, must have a lightning arrestor system (lightning rods) and necessary grounding to protect the building from lightening strikes. (Given the capricious nature of lightning, arrestor systems are not as simple as one would think.) Unless you can be absolutely sure the building properly incorporates such a system, it is not advisable to be in a pool within the building during such a storm. Also, lightning can travel through underground piping and wiring from other sources, such as adjacent buildings. It just makes common sense to get out, move out of the area and wait for the storm to pass. I've been in the pool where I swim when fierce storm came up one night and the pool was cleared out. Good thing. We saw a bright flash, heard a snap (electrical discharge), then sizzle and then a hugh boom. Lightning had struck very closely to the building enclosing the pool. No one was in it at the time. An ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.
