Is It Dangerous to Shower During a Thunderstorm?

I saw an interesting question floating around on Facebook the other day. It read, "Did anyone else's parents say you couldn't shower during a storm because you might be struck by lightning?" As soon as I saw it, I related. I am 54-years-old and, to this day, I am still afraid to take a shower or a bath if a storm is approaching. I think all those warnings I absorbed from my parents when I was a kid stuck.

But, is that a reasonable fear? Sure, our parents warned us against it, but should they have? Can you really be struck by lightning if you're taking a shower during a thunderstorm?

The answer is simple. YES! You absolutely can.

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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a page dedicated to lightning strikes on their website. On that page, the experts share a variety of tips to consider if there are storms in your area. And, look! We live in a stormy part of the country. Weather can be turbulent and electric at times here in western Kentucky and southern Indiana.

Among the tips for protecting yourself against lightning are refraining from using anything connected to an electrical outlet and avoiding using a corded phone. While not many folks these days are using corded phones, we're all showering and bathing. The CDC says that's a really bad idea if there's a thunderstorm in your area. Their advice? "Stay out of the shower and away from other plumbing. This includes washing dishes."

The reason? Water can carry electrical currents and, according to the experts at ADT, those pipes it's traveling through at your house can act as conduits. Lightning can literally travel through your pipes. Chalk that up as two reasons I was afraid to shower when I was a kid. 1) Getting struck by lightning during a storm. 2) Thanks to the terror of Stephen King's IT, I was also afraid a gigantic clown nose was going to spring up through the shower drain. Clearly, my fear of #2 was completely irrational. But the concern for #1 is valid.

And, here's some added proof that you may want to avoid taking a shower or bath during a thunderstorm. Check out this statistic. Approximately one-third of injuries caused by lightning strikes occur indoors. Indoors? Really? News travels fast and apparently so does lightning.

So, it looks like your parents were right. You really shouldn't shower during a thunderstorm. While the odds are relatively slim, there's certainly no reason to stack them.