Cave diving during thunderstorms

[wingman]

Saturday, I was teaching a Advanced Nitrox/Deco class in an open water hole in Utah called "The Crater". We were down about 50 feet, when I started hearing rumbling sounds and started seeing what I thought were underwater camera strobes. I started feeling slight tingling on my face, and them I finally realized what was going on. It was pretty scarry and I didn't dare bring the class any shallower until the storm passed. The top of the crater is about 100 feet above ground level and is the highest point around the area. I'm sure the crater was struck several times over about 2 or 3 minutes. With all of this talk lately about lightning strikes, it really had me rattled! I wouldn't choose to dive in a lightning storm on purpose, that's for sure!

Is that the crater at homestead? i got a dive in there a couple of years ago and if i remember right the crater is shaped pretty much like a volcano that you enter from a walking tunnel bored into the side...it certainly seemed to be pretty much "indoors" with only a small opening at the top. Bill Huth

[scubaqueen]

Never again will I go cave diving (or any other kind of diving, including the bathtub variety) during an approaching thunderstorm. I have been fortunate in my ignorance, not ever to have been shocked during a dive.

Up in my neck of the woods, we have an electric ray that makes its home at a popular dive site. It's huge, and every once in a while, someone who doesn't know what it is, tries to play with it, and gets zapped. Curiously, the description of the electric ray shock (getting hit with a 2 x 4) was very similar to those of you who described being hit by lightning.

Safe diving all!

[Randy Thornton]

Is that the crater at homestead? i got a dive in there a couple of years ago and if i remember right the crater is shaped pretty much like a volcano that you enter from a walking tunnel bored into the side...it certainly seemed to be pretty much "indoors" with only a small opening at the top. Bill Huth

Yes, it was the Homestead crater. The water was way too warm for 4 dives in one day - about 96 degrees. Felt pretty terrible by the time the day was over. It sure is nice and comfortable in the winter however! What on earth were you doing diving out in Utah?

[wingman]

Yes, it was the Homestead crater. The water was way too warm for 4 dives in one day - about 96 degrees. Felt pretty terrible by the time the day was over. It sure is nice and comfortable in the winter however! What on earth were you doing diving out in Utah?

Had a conference at the resort there, i spend my nondiving time in canyonlands and vicinity...that water was indeed warm...planning a lake powell adventure in september...hope to dive there, you dive any on the lake? Send me a pm...Bill Huth

[scubaqueen]

A wealth of good lightning safety information is available at
www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov

-skip

I checked out this site and it really has a lot of information including survivor stories from those who have suffered lightning strikes. Most of the survivors have residual symptoms, including seizures, headaches, memory loss, fatigue and depression.

I had no idea central Florida was the lightning capital of the US. It is estimated that in a span of 80 years, a person's chance of being struck by lightning is 1/5,000. The scary thing is that it can travel through windows, through telephone and electrical cords, and it can even find you on a sunny day.

Now if you live in central Florida.......hmmmm.......hell, you'd better run inside.

[Wizard]

Attach some 10 guage wire to a copper bar and the other end to you p-valve.
The copper bar drags along the bottom so you are properly grounded.