Kayaks and weather

I hope everyone on here made it through the storms without any significant losses. They have been rough, but anyone of us with access to the internet or weather channel would have been expecting them as they were predicted several days out. That's not always the case in the spring and summer. We got caught in the same spot on two different occasions last summer - about 3.5 miles into a 5 mile river trip. Both times there was almost no chance of rain forecasted and not enough warning to get anywhere fast. High winds, lightening popping, and sheets of rain falling so hard it hurt. We were blessed there was no hail either time.

The first time we paddled through it for awhile before having to go to the bank and take shelter under a tree until it calmed some. Being under a tree with lightening flashing nearby wasn't very comforting, but felt safer than being in the middle of the river holding a metal paddle.

The second time we could see that it just kept getting worse so we just paddled as hard as we could through it to the take out.

Please everyone be careful out there and if anyone has tips or suggestions for these situations post them up. You just might save someone's life.

Anyone that has paddled long enough has had it happen to them.On still water such as a lake or pond if you monitor a weather app radar on your smart phone you should have enough time to make it off the water to your vehicle but on river and creek floats you have no choice but to ride it out and a lot of times phone reception is not reliable and with the dense tree canopy thunderstorms can come upon you quickly.First thing I do is take all rods out of the rodholders and place them on the deck along with the metal or carbon fiber paddle,I like to keep a small plastic paddle inside my hatch,I try to find low place along the bank get out and hunker down and get as low as possiable .While lightning is the greatest risk you also have to be aware of falling trees and limbs during high winds that normally accompany thunderstorms