Why is it dangerous to shower when there’s a lightning storm?
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It is SUPER rare, but it is possible that the electrical charge of the lightning can travel through metal pipes and the water and electrocute you. It happens like once every ten years or something, though, not very common at all.
In 62 years of life, I have never seen an actual news story of someone getting electrocuted by lightning while bathing, but it is possible. Electricity will always take the easiest path to ground. Your electronics have the privilege of being connected to wires above ground (more susceptible to lightning) with an easy path to ground through your electronics. Older homes that may not have a grounding rod for the electrical wiring would use the metal water line from the street to provide a path to ground. Your bathroom shower or tub is not likely to be the easiest path to ground. In the end, if you are uncomfortable showering during a lightning storm, just wait. They generally don’t last that long and no one needs to know why you are waiting.
It is quite rare but it does happen – and not just in the shower:
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/woman-hospitalised-after-being-struck-30233731
Didn’t Mythbusters prove this (a lightning strike while showering) as plausible?
If that’s something that worries you, you should probably never get in a car again. You should see the stats on that!
It’s not.
Your drain is grounded and your faucet is grounded to the same potential. So there can be no current flow.
Back in the day before we had an understanding of electricity. If you had a water tower on the roof of your really tall apartment building it would be a little dicey.
Independent of the very minimal chance of a lightning strike causing electricity to jump to the water system, being naked in a shower if there is a lightning strike or a power outage makes things much harder to deal with. There is no real danger of electrocution but if the house gets hit there’s a chance of fire and you’re now in a dark slippery bathroom and have to get out and get dressed before you leave, or risk going outside half dressed in a storm.
There is no risk of electrocution during a lighting storm, that’s an urban legend.
However, there is a risk that the lighting storm will cause a power outage which can pose a slip and fall risk if someone is suddenly fumbling around in a running shower in the dark
Everyone is trying to connect the likelihood of lightning itself being the danger, but also consider what else happens during bad storms.
Power outages.
If you’re in the shower or bath during a power outage you’ll lose all light, and while most bathrooms do have windows to let in outside light those are likely darkened due to the storm itself. So now you’re soaking wet and attempting to transition into or out of the shower or bath, which is the most dangerous part of the entire process, in near complete darkness.
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