What's your policy on thunder & lightening?

[Ky'sMom]

That haboob pic is AMAZING!!

Also never heard of that word!

Forgot to mention I am from a state and live in a state with a lot of Thunderstorms. Thunderstorms just are normal for me and not frightening. If we ran at the sound of thunder here, we'd be running in the house all summer. Sometimes we hear thunder and see lightening (and it will get cool) but it never rains, other times it comes down immediately or it hails immediately, lasts for 10 minutes and is gone.

I remember when I first moved here how scary it looked AFTER storms. Here in GA it gets REALLY hot and then it will cool off before the storm, pelt rain for 10-15 minutes, clouds disappear and all the ground will steam something fierce and it will look like a scene from Sleepy Hollow or something!

I also usually follow the same rules Tif mentioned above, we don't climb trees, stay in water, or golf (DH and I golf as does Ky) when there is a threat of a thunder storm, especially if we see lightening, but other than those precautions (and turning off the TV because I have had TVs get zapped during storms and rendered useless) we will just sit and watch the storm unless there is a Tornado Watch in our immediate area or a Tornado Warning in our general area.

[Sugar&Spice]

I can't remember the last time we had a thunderstorm here (west coast), but growing up on the east coast, we used to open the front door and sit inside with the lights out and enjoy the storms. I think I'd do what you did, and stay outside until it got close enough to worry. DS thinks every big noise is an airplane anyway, so I don't think he'd be scared.

When I was a kid, I had a friend who'd scream and run inside even when she saw strange cloud formations that might suggest a storm was coming, and her parents made her sit/sleep on the stairs in the middle of the house during storms. They were all in a panic over storms, and I always thought that was a terrible fear to pass on to your kids--and what a complete waste of time, having to sit there doing nothing, sometimes for hours, during storms.

[ljs318]

I can't remember the last time we had a thunderstorm here (west coast), but growing up on the east coast, we used to open the front door and sit inside with the lights out and enjoy the storms. I think I'd do what you did, and stay outside until it got close enough to worry. DS thinks every big noise is an airplane anyway, so I don't think he'd be scared.

When I was a kid, I had a friend who'd scream and run inside even when she saw strange cloud formations that might suggest a storm was coming, and her parents made her sit/sleep on the stairs in the middle of the house during storms. They were all in a panic over storms, and I always thought that was a terrible fear to pass on to your kids--and what a complete waste of time, having to sit there doing nothing, sometimes for hours, during storms.

My best friend's family was the same way, LOL. They used to huddle in the hallway during thunderstorms. Not tornado threats or anything, just loud storms. I was there one time and was shocked that they did that. We'd go about our routine as normal and maybe close a window or two.

[karen208]

I'd say before that we'd head right in but we live in this odd area where thunderstorms seem to split or miss us almost all the time and hit all around. So I've gotten to the point where if I here thunder I check where the clouds are and check online and we wouldn't come in till it rained. Seriously we had an 80 percent chance of a thunderstorm and it hit everywhere around us.

[raspberry]

haboob haboob haboob. Add me to the list that totally thought Carrie was just making words up. That picture is incredible!!

During summer we often have afternoon thunderstorms. I typically go inside when I first hear the thunder. It can become a downpour in a split second. And we can have loud cracking lightening near us, so I always go inside.

[MomOfAnOnly]

LOL! When I first heard the word I though it was made up too

Had to post another pic of what haboobs can look like from the ground! Imagine seeing that puppy coming! Luckily for the most part they look way worse than they really are.

[karen208]

I'm changing my answer and saying that we're going in as so on a we here thunder. A teenager was recently struck and killed by lightening nearby and the storm wasn't even there yet. All that had happened was thunder. The story said that once you hear thunder you're close enough to be struck. Lightening can travel 12 plus miles.

[Capricity]

I didn't know people had rules or protocols when it came to thunderstorms and playing outside. Our only rules were common sense-get out of the pool if there is lightening, don't climb trees during a storm, that sort of thing. I don't think we were ever told to come inside at any certain point. But I also grew up in the PNW where there aren't a lot of lightening storms and also where there aren't many places where we would be the tallest item to draw the lightening seeing as how there are so many trees.

This, pretty much. ^

We stay out until we can feel the drops of rain, and that's really just because my two are so young that I don't feel like dealing with the mess rain/mud would make. And they are too young to understand to stay close to the house if I ask them to.
My family grew up sitting on the front porch watching storms. So we just stay close to the house, with the occasional run out into the rain.