Storms

[Stoker]

With all the unpredictable weather out there, even if you set out camping thinking there is going to be good weather, what do you do when you caught in the middle of a thunderstorm?

[HappyFeet]

Go up to higher ground. We never know when flash floods come and when they do come, we won't have the time to pack up and run.

[staime]

Wish in one hand......really though I have been pretty lucky so far. The last time we were caught out in anything it was only bad for an 2 hours and then as it was mid day we ended up getting dry in a few hours to continue on our trip.

[DThewanderer]

It really depends on how bad the storm is. If there is a threat of flooding then of course heading to higher ground is a good idea. If there is a lot of lightning then I might do something a little different.

[Camoguy]

Don't sit under a tree! Honestly it depends on how bad it gets. If you can find shelter take it. If you think the area will flood, climb higher. If you are in the middle of a thunder and lightening storm seek a low spot and sit there hoping you don't get blasted.

[Michael]

Try to find a dry spot that's high enough up that I don't have to worry about getting flooded.

If I'm camping, I'll usually have a bit of tarp and some cord. If this is the case I can string up the tarp and then sit under it. Since any tents and such would already have been toward the top of any hills, that would leave me safe from flooding.

If I'm totally caught out, I try to find some shelter. If it's windy, you can find bits of rock face and hang out on the leeward side. If there are some low but thick pine trees, you can often hang out in the middle of them and be pretty safe and dry, since lightning will tend to strike taller trees and the needles can form a fairly water resistant layer.

Whatever I do, I try to not need to move around too much. Once it gets raining good and hard, it's a lot less pleasant to hike about. Rocks get slippery. Dirt turns to mud. Bodies of water expand, and sometimes they form spontaneously.

[limaker]

I think most times when we head out we attempt for a high hill near no trees as well, but sometimes it gets tricky. The last time we headed up we ended up in a high and dry place but then randomly found something out of a Disney book. We woke to a ton of random farm/wild life animals roaming around our camp area.