Do umbrellas attract lightning?

MYTH: Small metal objects attract lightning, and I'm safer outside without any metal nearby. (or) MYTH: Wearing jewelry, wearing shoes with metal cleats or carrying metal objects such as tripods, golf clubs and umbrellas will attract lightning and make me more susceptible to a strike. read more

Lightning is a large-scale event that is not influenced by small ojects on the ground, so distancing yourself from small metal objects will not make you safe from lightning. Metal objects like umbrellas, golf clubs, bicycles and fences will attract a lightning channel only if the strike is already a few feet away - in which case you would still experience an injury from being that close to begin with. read more

Carrying an open umbrella may slow you down if you’re running for cover, but the fact that the umbrella is part metal doesn’t factor into it. John Jensenius is a meteorologist and a lightning safety specialist at the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. read more