ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — You’re probably familiar with the saying, ‘When thunder roars, head indoors’, or ‘See a flash, dash inside’.

They’re two of the most popular sayings in the safety community when it comes to lightning, and for good reason. Because according to Samantha Scarneo-Miller, Ph.D., ATC, a sports safety researcher and certified athletic trainer at West Virginia University, whether you hear or just see lightning, it’s dangerous. 

“[A] huge misconception with lightning is that some lightning might not be dangerous. Some things we might call heat lightning or horizontal lightning. All lightning is dangerous,” said Dr. Scarneo-Miller.

Meteorologically speaking as well, heat lightning is not a real phenomenon. Heat doesn’t cause lightning. So when you see lightning but don’t hear thunder, it’s only because you’re too far away to hear it but not too far away for it not to be dangerous. 

“[It’s] important that we evacuate to a safe place, so we should go into a structure that has walls with plumbing and electricity. We should go into our cars or vehicles. Those are considered safe structures,” said Dr. Scarneo-Miller.

It’s important to remember that all cars are not created equally when it comes to protection from a lightning strike. Cars with non-removable metal roofs offer the most protection from a lightning strike. While convertibles and cars with removable fiberglass roofs offer no protection from lightning.

“If you cannot reach a safe location when a thunderstorm is in your area, you should avoid the riskiest places. So don’t go to the top of mountains, don’t go in open areas, don’t go to the only tree in the field, don’t go toward water,” said Dr. Scarneo-Miller

Dr. Scarneo-Miller also recommends having an AED present as often as possible, especially on a sports field, because if someone is struck, that AED can increase their chance of survival.