During stormy weather, conductive items that are outdoors can build in electric charge, leading to them being struck by lightning after a few moments. An item that's building charge makes a buzzing sound and begins to arc. If held, a crew mate can immediately drop the sparking item and takes some distance from it to survive the strike. Otherwise, lightning strikes are powerfully fatal.

Lightning may strike a conductive object multiple times in quick succession. Crewmates who wait an extra moment before picking their items back up are less likely to be hit by secondary lightning strikes.

If a conductive item is under cover such as the roof of the autopilot ship, lightning will tend to strike the roof instead. This sometimes works for overhangs and close to walls, but not reliably. If lightning strikes the ship, the ship's lights and monitor turn off and can be turned back on.

Conductive equipment ordered while on a stormy moon will not attract lightning for the duration of the day it was bought on.

Strategy: If possible, limit the amount of conductive loot brought back at once, that way you only need to drop 1 item instead of all.