lightning and pools.. arrrrrrgggh!

I'm glad someone brought this up because this is right up there with noodlers as an annoyance for me. The lifeguards at the pools around here are totally obsessed with thunder and lightning to the point they will position their chairs near a window during any rain and crane their neck to look for lightning. I have been told to get out of a pool due to a nearby train and dark clouds with no rain whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, you should not swim during thunderstorms but it is taken to the extreme here. Now, I do know of at least one pool that has some sort of lightning detector for a 5 mile radius. That way they only evacuate the pool in the event of a true nearby storm. That seems like a nifty device.

I swim in predominantly indoor pools and they are closed ALL THE TIME!

Originally posted by Guvnah I'm with Heidi. I haven't ever experienced an indoor pool getting closed due to lightning, and I live in the Pikes Peak region -- the 3rd most lightning prone area in the country (behind Fla, and some part of Texas that escapes me right now.) yeah, I never experienced this for an indoor pool before I moved out here. I grew up in Connecticut, and went to school in Florida and never heard of it. I did find an article about lightning and indoor issues, and apparently is is a "slight" risk to the swimmers, but more of an issue with anyone near some sort of conductor that would lead indoors directly from outside. However, there have been no reported incidents of people getting either hurt, or killed while in an indoor pool during a storm.. frustrating when you want to work out.

It's complete nonsense to evacuate an indoor pool as an indoor pool is really no different from any office building. I read this same report that says lightning can travel on electrical or plumbing circuits. If that's the case, then we should also evacuate office buildings and not allow people to use the bathrooms during a lightning storm. If lightning can travel through circuits at a pool, it can just as easily travel through a computer, a light fixture, a water fountain, etc, at an office park. But, when you consider every lightning stike gives the teenage guard staff 30 minutes of socializing instead of guarding, you can easily see why lightning strikes are so popular with them.

Originally posted by aquageek It's complete nonsense to evacuate an indoor pool as an indoor pool is really no different from any office building. I read this same report that says lightning can travel on electrical or plumbing circuits. If that's the case, then we should also evacuate office buildings and not allow people to use the bathrooms during a lightning storm. If lightning can travel through circuits at a pool, it can just as easily travel through a computer, a light fixture, a water fountain, etc, at an office park. But, when you consider every lightning stike gives the teenage guard staff 30 minutes of socializing instead of guarding, you can easily see why lightning strikes are so popular with them. I fully agree, I was thinking the EXACT same thing as I was sitting in my cube farm surrounded by electrical conductors and large windows behind me! lol.. I thought it was silly too.

I'm not denying lightning is a force du jour but common sense dictates you don't close an indoor pool when there is a lightning strike two counties over. Speaking of lightning, I need some help to resolve a dispute. When you are caught on a golf course in a bad storm and can't make it back to the clubhouse, do you A) stay on the fairway outside your cart or B) stay in your cart on the fairway or C) go under the trees in your cart or D) go under the trees outside your cart? I see pros and cons of each approach. You stay on the course you are the tallest thing around. You go under the trees you are the grounding point for them.

During our summer monsoon season here in AZ (usually July-August), it is quite common to have evening practice cancelled due to lightning. When I lived in Tucson a few years ago, I got very frustrated after getting only 2 workouts one week, so went in the mornings for a while. Back here in Tempe, I now swim in the morning and it gets cancelled once in a while...maybe 2-3 times a year at most. We had a delay getting in the pool this morning because one of the lifeguards overslept. Evidently, it is not good enough to have just 1 and our coach. I have no idea what the lifeguards do there, but the 1 time when someone actually had a problem they freaked out and the coach had to do handle the situation.

When I was coaching in the early 70's, there was an approaching lightning/thunder storm while the kids were working out (outdoor pool). We continued to watch as it basically developed right on top of us with this beautiful display. Then a strike hit one of the light standards, blew out the lamp and scared the crap out of us. We got the kids out and sent 'em to the showers which, after reading the plumbing connection comments, may not have been the appropriate thing to do. But everyone lived so what the heck.

Wait, they closed your indoor pool? Our outdoor one closes every once in awhile for lightening storms. I swam while it hailed yesterday...interesting with inch round balls pelting me in the face.

Originally posted by Heidi Wait, they closed your indoor pool? Our outdoor one closes every once in awhile for lightening storms. I'm with Heidi. I haven't ever experienced an indoor pool getting closed due to lightning, and I live in the Pikes Peak region -- the 3rd most lightning prone area in the country (behind Fla, and some part of Texas that escapes me right now.)