diving in the rain

[SharkRider]

Is there any reason not to dive in the rain, with the exception of lightening?

We dive in the rain - and the lightning all the time. Stay underwater and you're good to go!

 

[Nemrod]

My wife and I, on a drift dive out of Jupiter, surfaced in the middle of a water spout. The boat had already picked everyone else up and moved off to get out of the rain tunnel. As we were surfacing I knew something was odd because it was so dark interupted by flashes of light. As I broke the surface and popped my mask up on my forehead (just had to get that in there) I noticed that it was wetter out of the water than under it and there was zero viz and the wind was like being in the middle of an auto carwash. No boat anywhere. I grabbed my wife and we went under and I swam a course to where I thought the boat might be but as we went down I guess the cpatain had been worried and gone into the storm after us, meanwhile we swam out and again--no boat! We could not see them because they were now in the midst of the torrent of water. In a bit, soaking wet, the boat emerged and saw us and the captain almost kissed us he was so happy--I think he was afraid he had lost us--then he started fussing--but not to much. The clouds cleared and we all made a second dive. N

 

[Charlie99]

I got caught in a rain squall off of Boyton Beach much like what Nemrod describes. Just before everthing went really, really dark we heard the boat fly past us at high speed. We just continued our dive normally and waited out the storm. By the time we surface it was as if nothing had happened.

After getting back on the boat I asked the Captain how she handles the problem of 5 groups of divers in the water in a situation like that. It turns out that she rapidly runs from flag to flag marking each position on the GPS. Then she hopes that the divers just keep diving the way that had been before the squall line. If they do, then she pretty much knows where everybody will be after things clear up.

I wouldn't want to be on the surface in a heavy, low viz rain squall in an area with lots of boat traffic. Fortunately, heavy squall lines tend to be pretty short events.

 

[nyprrthd]

In the absence of lightening, and ignoring the drop in vis, the only downside to diving in the rain is trying to stay warm on the boat during your surface interval.

We dove on a cool, cloudy, rainy day in Belize in February. My wife was headed for a bad case of hypothermia after the second dive (on the boat on our way back to shore). I took one look at her, and whipped out my foil looking "space" blanket. I've carried one around on my boat for as long as I can remember, and never had to use it. Threw it in my dive bag before the trip "just because" since it doesn't take up much room. My DW now has one in her dive bag. Permanently..... Needless to say, the other divers on the boat gave me some pretty strange looks when I pulled the thing out of my dive bag! Once upon a time I was a Boy Scout, until I discovered Girl Scouts!

 

[Cacia]

Nobody has yet to explain the lightening thing...... I did not think you could get "struck" in the water.

 

[caymaniac]

The water usually gets a bit warmer... and I like the thought that everyone back on the boat is feeling totally miserable while you are hovering comfortably under the surface

Just think, when we were on the Star Dancer off New Britain the water was 90F, would you be able to tell when the water got warmer in that kind of temp.?

 

[H2Andy]

Nobody has yet to explain the lightening thing...... I did not think you could get "struck" in the water.

Lightning strikes the best conductor of electricity, and sometimes that can be a human being.

Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are not safe. diving is by
far the safest, if you stay deep.

http://www.aroundcentralflorida.com/features/lightning/

on the other hand, diving deep while on scuba is a lot safer than being
on the surface or on an exposed boat:

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/outdoors.htm

if your body or part of your body sticks out of the water, you're in real danger

 

[Cacia]

I remember my organic chemistry professor going through a big explanation about why planes could not be "struck". he said that free electrons race across the earth and jump through the shortest distance (thus the "highest" point, like a lightening rod) to meet a cloud or collection of positive protons. he said that while the free electron source in a plane was enough to damage the delicate instruments, the plane would never explode the way a tree or item on the ground would.

He was making the point that lightening does not strike down, it stikes up, as the electrons race across the matter of best conductivity to meet the protons.

Guess, I am off topic. i read your little link but the explanation about staying out of the water ...well I know standing in the water would be bad, but I am not sure that scuba diving you can be electrocuted by lightening.... I certainly could be wrong, but I am curious for a better explanation


sorry, I missed your second link which basically is what i am saying. Being underwater during lightening is safer than being on the beach or on the boat because you are not grounded to anything....just like in a plane.

 

[RumBum]

Lightning strikes the best conductor of electricity, and sometimes that can be a human being.

Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are not safe. diving is by
far the safest, if you stay deep.

http://www.aroundcentralflorida.com/features/lightning/

on the other hand, diving deep while on scuba is a lot safer than being
on the surface or on an exposed boat:

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/outdoors.htm

if your body or part of your body sticks out of the water, you're in real danger

H2Andy,
your first link does not refer to divers at all that I could see.

the second link says:
"Scuba Divers
If the boat you are in does not have a safe cabin to be in during lightning activity, then you are safer diving deep into the water for the duration of the storm or as long as possible. Your first choice is to head in and get in safe building or vehicle."

Maybe I am interpreting this differently than you are, but it seems to me to say that you are safer underwater during a lightening storm than crawling onto a wet boat deck. The writers do not define a safe depth.

I found this other article : http://scuba-doc.com/lightdive.htm
"If you're in a boat during a thunderstorm, the boat and everyone in it are the highest things around; they're prime targets for lightning bolts. While people on land can take shelter in buildings or vehicles, those aboard a dive boat that's caught by a thunderstorm far from shore have no place to take shelter. Diving underwater may not be an option. Lightning that hits the water could be deadly because it's electricity flows through water.

Scientists know little about what happens when lightning hits water. The electrical current probably spreads in all directions, weakening as it spreads out. Since large numbers of dead fish aren't found after thunderstorms move across bodies of water, the current probably weakens in short distances."


It seems no one knows how far lightning will travel underwater. If you are diving when a storm comes up it seems it would be best to try to 1)get away from the storm altogether and/or 2)don't be out in the open under the lightening (like floating on the surface or sitting on the wet deck of a boat).
If you want to stay underwater during a lightning storm then do so at your own risk.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

If you could be struck by lightning underwater, wouldn't there be a crapload of electrocuted fish?