DENVER — Hikers on two different mountains this weekend experienced electrical shocks and currents so strong it left their hair standing straight up.
If you find yourself in this situation, the best thing to do is create space between yourself and others, ditch any metal poles or objects and avoid solitary trees. As a last resort adopt the lightning position by crouching down on the balls of your feet and place your hands over your ears.
If the electricity is in your hair, that is a dangerous sign.
“That’s literally ionized particles going right to the end of your hair and waving at the heavens saying, ‘strike me now,'” Denver7 Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson said. “You are perhaps milliseconds away from being hit by lightning”
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Updated Aug. 15 at 2:16 p.m.The following corrected information has been added to this article: Because of a Denver7 error, this article suggested an unsafe action for when caught in a lightning storm. It has been removed.
