Thunderstorms are a very dangerous weather.
Basic dangers
Be prepared to fight monsters. Thunderstorms come without warning, and monsters can spawn. If you are not ready, go to your house as quickly as possible.
Avoid letting your health go 5![]()
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or below. Lightning could strike you by surprise.
Fires
Every time lightning strikes, it will start a fire. Usually, the rain will quickly put the fire out, but the fire will remain lit if it is under a ledge or on netherrack, allowing it to spread.
If you see a fire, put it out as quickly as possible. If you do not have a bucket, you can break the fire similar to grass.
Mobs
Lightning strikes can spawn or change mobs in these ways:
- Any lightning strike can spawn a skeleton trap.
- Creepers will become charged if struck by lightning.
- Pigs will turn into zombie pigmen if struck by lightning.
- Villagers will turn into witches if struck by lightning.
Skeleton traps
A skeleton trap before activation
Never get to close to a skeleton trap without knowing what you are doing. The safest way to fight them if with a bow. However, you want to activate a skeleton trap for one of these reasons:
- The skeletons have enchanted armor and weapons, each with a 8.5% chance of being dropped.
- If you kill the skeleton, the horse becomes yours, which is handy if you are in a biome that does not have normal horses.
Generally, iron armor and a sword with Smite is recommended. Alternatively, you can drink a potion of Invisibility.
Charged creepers
Charged creepers are more dangerous than normal ones. If possible, use a bow to fight one.
If you want mob heads, you can let the creeper follow you to a mob. When triggering the explosion, make sure that you are wearing good armor and that the mob is close to the creeper. To allow yourself to run away without stopping the explosion, trigger the creeper with flint and steel.
Zombie pigmen and witches
Sometimes, lightning will strike in a Pig farm or a village that you have been trading with.
First, kill the monster(s) created by the lightning strike.
To replenish pigs, look for "wild" pigs, and bring them to your farm using a carrot, potato or beetroot.
Notes
Lightning can only strike in the rain. This means that snowy and dry warm biomes cannot have lightning, which cuts most of the hazards. However, you still have an "unexpected nighttime" or the darkness of the sky.