When you’re out on summer days having fun, it might be hard to do the right thing when bad weather suddenly approaches. But lightning can kill instantly and seemingly come from out of the blue. Don’t stay out when you hear the first rumbles of thunder; that’s nature’s warning! When storms approach:

Seek shelter immediately. Shelter can be a substantial building or an enclosed vehicle with windows up.

Do not seek shelter under trees and picnic structures or in baseball dugouts. Avoid objects like electric wires, metal fences, bleachers and awnings. Get off and away from water.

If you are in an open field and cannot find shelter in a building or closed-frame vehicle, crouch on the ground using the “lightning crouch:” feet together, body squatted low, head tucked in and ears covered.

If a person is struck by lightning, call 911 and care for the victim. You cannot be harmed by touching the victim after he or she has been struck by lightning.

“Look up and live” is not just for “electrical” safety around power lines. Mother Nature reserves the biggest bolts of electricity for herself in the form of lightning. Heed her warnings with the first rumbles of thunder you hear or the first sight of distant flashes.