At Canadian airports there is a thunderstorm alert (known as THOR) when there is lightning within a few km of the airport as registered by a special sensor. So during a T-storm and for 15 min after the last strike the ramp area is shutdown - no ramp operations and, of course, no refuelling. (Who would want to be sitting on 80,000 gal of jetfuel in a T-storm?). Airports are equipped with strobe lights on the passenger bridges which alert the ground crew to go indoors. It happens sometimes that you land with t-showers around, taxi to the gate and then sit 100m out waiting for the ground crew - frustrating after a long trip, but understandable for the ramp rats.