Lightning and Storm Safety Outdoors
Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).
What you will learn
- 1Spot the signs that a storm is close
- 2Head for a building or a hard-roofed car with your grown-up when you hear thunder
- 3Name the places to stay away from in a storm
- 4Wait with your grown-up until the storm has truly passed
Mini Lesson
Storms can build up quickly outdoors. Lightning is a giant spark of electricity from a storm cloud. It is very dangerous. The good news is that you can stay safe if you know the signs and move early, with your grown-up.
🌿 The Wild Way (move early, get to shelter)
- READ THE SIGNS: dark, tall clouds and the sound of thunder mean a storm is close.
- HEAR THUNDER, GO NOW: if you can hear thunder, lightning can reach you. Head for a building or a hard-roofed car with your grown-up right away.
- STAY AWAY: keep away from tall lone trees, hilltops, open fields, water, and metal fences.
- NOT A SHELTER: a tent or an open picnic shelter does not keep you safe from lightning.
- NO SHELTER CLOSE BY? Keep moving with your grown-up toward shelter and lower ground. Never lie flat on the ground. A group spreads out a little.
- WAIT IT OUT: stay inside until a good while after the last thunder. Your grown-up decides when it is safe.
No place outside is truly safe in a thunderstorm. Your grown-up is in charge: stay close, move when they say, and never go back out until they say the storm has passed.
Words to know
lightning
A giant spark of electricity from a storm cloud.
e.g. We saw lightning flash far away.
thunder
The loud rumble that lightning makes.
e.g. When we heard thunder, we went inside.
storm
Bad weather with strong wind, rain, thunder, or lightning.
e.g. The storm came over the hill fast.
shelter
A safe place to wait, like a building or a hard-roofed car.
e.g. We waited in the shelter until the storm passed.
lower ground
A place lower down, like the bottom of a slope, away from hilltops.
e.g. We kept walking toward the car and lower ground.
lone tree
A tall tree standing all by itself.
e.g. Never wait under a lone tree in a storm.
🧠 Survivor’s Trick: do not wait for the rain. Lightning can strike before the rain arrives. The first rumble of thunder is your signal to stop, tell your grown-up, and move.
Unlock the full HSEA system for 7 days.
Add your first kid profile and your 7 days start: every lesson in every grade, saved progress for each child. Nothing to set up, no card required, nothing to cancel.
- ✓ All 1,880 lessons, Grades 1–6, every subject
- ✓ Profiles + saved progress for every kid
- ✓ Printable lessons with answer key