Oleh Pinchuk, an incoming freshman, rarely considered the possibility of a lightning strike killing him in his residence hall.
During severe weather at home, his parents only warned him against watching TV or eating. So, he felt relieved to learn he would move into Slivka College, a newer building with plastic pipes instead of metal ones that conduct electricity.
“I’ve never heard of it being a problem before,” Pinchuk said.
This summer, the Midwest is experiencing a more-frequent-than-usual number of thunderstorms. In a typical year, about 300 people suffer injuries and 50 die from lightning strikes, according to the National Weather Service.
Mira Trofymchuk, Medill ’28, who lives in the Foster-Walker Complex, also skips checking the weather forecast before bathing. She grew up in Ukraine and remembers her parents telling her to stay away from the Black Sea during tempests. She said they told her, “Water magnetizes electricity.”
Neither University student gave much thought to the possible danger of a simple everyday habit, and both prefer to avoid losing an hour waiting for the weather to clear. “I’m going to keep hanging out in the shower,” Pinchuk said.
Students tend to ignore the severe weather – sometimes because they can’t hear it. “The bathroom that’s in my dorm is kind of surrounded by other rooms, so there is no access to the outside,” Trofymchuk said.
The risk of electrocution presents a legitimate, physics-based hazard, rather than an old wives’ tale. Nathaniel Stern, a professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern, said the danger of washing during a storm is comparable to the risk of crashing in a moving vehicle. “Riding in a car can be a very dangerous activity, but most of the time we are fine, and we accept that level of risk,” Stern said.
When lightning strikes a building, it carries an enormous voltage that acts as an electrical force, driving a surge along any path it can find. Because plumbing often consists of highly conductive metal connections, the electrical charge easily spreads through the pipes to reach the earth.
A student in the stall is surrounded by wet surfaces, water, and metal fixtures, which could lead him to become part of a path from the lightning strike to ground, according to Stern.
Trofymchuk lived in a 56-year-old dormitory, but the risk there is similar to that in the modern building where Pinchuk will live. Modern plastic pipes could reduce the risk of an electrical surge traveling through the plumbing, but Stern said it’s hard to know if the material matters much.
To prevent structural damage, dorm buildings are equipped with lightning protection, including lightning rods and grounding, said Evan L. Goldstein, a reliability engineer.
The University adheres to all relevant safety codes, such as the National Electrical Code and the National Fire Protection Association 780 standard. That is, electrical systems safely connect to the earth, protecting buildings from lightning strikes.
However, the Centers for Disease Control guideline for behavior remains the same: “It is best to avoid any contact with plumbing and running water during a lightning storm to reduce your risk of being struck.”
“Make smart choices,” Stern said. “Avoid unnecessary risk, whether in driving or taking a shower during a thunderstorm.”
The CDC recommends waiting 30 minutes after a storm ends before running the water. Pinchuk plans to follow all the safety rules. “I still want to live,” he said.
