If I don't have a detector (which means every field i can think of right now with only a single exception), I go by 30 seconds (about 6 1/2 miles) as well.

Westherbug
 

I found an app for my iPhone called Weatherbug, it's free. One of the options on the app is called "Spark". It gives an approximate distance of the closest lightning to your location. Does anyone has any history with this app? The local LL's use it as the BODs walk around the park during possible inclement weather.

BTW, my keyboard is misspelling today.

Actually, lightning DOES cause thunder by super heating the air and some other scientific stuff (how's that for Mr Technical?). If there were no lightning there would be no thunder.

JJ

The electrical discharge IS lightning and lightning produces the thunder. The electrical discharge can occur from a cloud that is 40,000 feet above ground. Lightning strikes randomly and from 40,000 feet it can strike anywhere. 30 second flash to bang is no comfort. Standing next to a grounded light pole is like standing next to tree, bad place to be if lightning strikes it. Lightning is not particularly attracted to aluminum bats. It could miss all the light poles and strike the ground near a fielder and cause a death due to ground step potential.

If you can see lightning striking or hear thunder it is close enough to stop an amateur game.

MLB is whole different subject from amateur baseball from a lot of standpoints including approaching bad weather.

If I used 30 seconds flash to bang, I'd lose my registration. Around here, they teach "if you can see it or hear it, it can kill you."

I think this is the better approach. My state is hard headed about some of these things, including having no limit on outdoor activities when the heat index is above a certain point. It's going to take somebody dying for the policy to be revisited I fear.

My wife tells me I don't hear well anyways, but I suspect I'd have trouble hearing thunder that was caused by a lightning flash that was over 30 seconds away at Mach 1.

Just last weekend, I was at an amusement park with my daughter when a storm was approaching. I tried the "count to 30" method. By around the low 20s, I got bored and decide I wasn't going to hear it. When I did eventually hear it, it was very faint. But, it wasn't 5 minutes later that the storm was right on top of us.

I think this is why more and more associations are going to the "if you can hear it, it's too close" model. Unless you happen to be looking at it when it flashes from that distance, you won't know when to start counting. Since most officials are concentrating on other duties, we aren't able to look at the sky too. And if the thunder is loud enough that you notice it while you are performing your other duties, it's time to seek shelter.

NOAA Coach’s and Sports Official’s Guide to Lightning Safety...
 

Might be of interest: NOAA Coach’s and Sports Official’s Guide to Lightning Safety

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grr/educatio...CoachGuide.pdf

Says to stop activity on any thunder for at least 30 minutes from last thunder. No 30 second rule.

The 30 second "flash-bang" gives you about 6 mile protection. The "hear thunder" gives you about 10. The "see it" should be used with a grain of salt at night because lightning can be seen a long way away at night.

And I guess my point was that I find it unlikely that I will hear thunder while I'm officiating if it's not within the 6 miles of the 30-second flash-to-bang. I could barely hear it on Saturday and I was actively listening for it. If I had other things I was watching/listening for, I doubt I'd notice it.

Do what Lee Trevino once said--stand out in the open holding up a 1-iron, because even God can't hit a 1-iron! :D

Here's a blog report from a meteorologist who is loosely affiliated with the Minnesota Twins. From what he writes, the policy boils down to leaving it up to the umpires to decide when to suspend play. He provides suggestions on how that should change, based upon an incident last year in Texas.

Why Major League Baseball needs to update severe weather policy | Updraft | Minnesota Public Radio News

Are you gonna send the whole stadium to their cars. Even when we suspend games and announce to go to cover in HS we still have most people milling around and seated in the stands, unless the rain forces them to move. Difficult dilemma.

Anyone stupid enough to be still sitting in the stands while lightning is nearby deserves to be zapped.