Re: Why is it necessary to stay off the telephone during a thunderstorm?

Not using the telephone, computer, or any other electric appliance during a thunderstorm is a safety precaution. Check out the National Lightning Safety Institute home page for more information about these, and other safety precautions. The page also has lots of information about lighting and links to other lightning-related Web pages. The reason for the precaution is that there is a possibility that if lightning were to strike a telephone or electric power line, it could be conducted along the wires and a person touching an electric appliance or telephone could receive a dangerous (or even fatal) shock. The telephone system has built-in lightning arrestors to mitigate this risk, but the risk is not totally eliminated. Plugging electronic equipment into a surge protector helps protect the equipment against lightning strike damage, but this also is not complete protection against damage or personal injury. Protective devices do fail, or a nearby strike could overwhelm the capacity of a device to block a surge; from the standpoint of personal safety, it's better not to tempt fate and simply not use the phone and turn off and stay away from computers and any other electric or electronic appliance that's plugged in.