Outdoor Activity Planning
- If thunderstorms are forecast, avoid being outdoors at that time or make an alternate plan.
- Monitor the weather forecasts and warnings, as well as the Canadian Lightning Danger Maps (if accessible) during the day.
- Develop a process to cancel or delay the activity before any storm threatens.
- Inform the organizers, volunteers, and students of the emergency plan. For example, communicate the procedures for assisting students with disabilities (for example, a wheelchair).
- Identify safe locations for the activity area and determine the time required to reach them. Safe locations are:
- Any building normally occupied or frequently used by people (for example, a building with plumbing and/or electrical wiring that acts to electrically ground the structure). (Sheds (wood/vinyl, metal), tents, open shelters on athletic fields and parks are designed to protect from rain and sun but NOT lightning.)
- Any vehicle with a hard metal roof (not a convertible or golf cart) and rolled-up windows can provide a measure of safety. (The hard metal roof and body of the vehicle dissipate the lightning strike around the vehicle and not inside). (DO NOT TOUCH THE SIDES OF THE VEHICLE.)