Struck by lightning last night!


Shaun_300

Recommended Posts

Last night around 10:15 I see the red warning come up at the bottom of my screen saying severe thunderstorm warning. I checked the radar, big blob of red heading straight for us. Dad and I love thunderstorms so we were watching out the upstairs bathroom window with the window open. The lightning was getting closer and closer, started raining a bit and my hand got wet from leaning on the window sill. All of a sudden I could feel static on my hand and a huge bolt of lightning hits in my neighbour's yard. As it did there was a big SNAP and arc that hit my knuckle on my middle finger. It wasn't really intense, similar to getting a zap from a ignition coil or spark plug wire. Made me jump but didn't hurt that bad. Couldn't believe it! I went to move my hand away when I felt the static but it happened so fast. My neighbour's were outside on the lawn watching it, they went in and not 2 minutes later this happened! It was crazy, couldn't believe it! Oh well, could have been worse I guess...... :eek::D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Driving home from work last night, I'm coming up our road at 11:30pm....had lightening and rain all the way home. Well next thing I know there's a flash to my right then right in front of me that blinded me for a second, it was so bright, then I immediately felt a tingle go up both my arms!!!!! This was about 1 mile from the house....yeah, that was scary! Must have hit really really close...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

O.K for any of you guys who are old enough to have watched the kids series "RAZZLE DAZZLE" many many moons ago, you'll appreciate when I say that many of the responses in this series of posts are "GROANERS" as coined by Howard the Turtle! :clown:

So here's some interesting facts that you can apply next time you see lightning and hear thunder:

1. Sound travels at 1125 ft/sec in dry air at 68 F.

2. That means that sound would travel approximately 1 mile in 4.7 seconds.

3. The speed of light is fast enough to make it virtually negligeable for items seen on this earth.

So the next time you see a bolt or flash of lightning, immediately start counting. Just to ball park it, the lightning would have struck a point from you, 1 mile for every 5 seconds you count.

As in Shaun's situation, when you see the bolt of lightning and hear the crack of thunder at the same time, it's close. Dang close!

Remember the movie "The Great Outdoors" starring John Candy. In that movie there was guy who had been hit by lightning numerous times. His hair was as white as snow if I remember correctly. Here's a quote from the movie as they talked to the lightning guy:

Bartender: He's been struck by lightning... how many times has it been now, Reg?

Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-six...

Chet: Six times?

Reg: S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-six-sixty-sixty-six times. In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-In-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n the head!

So be careful Shaun. Wouldn't want you to become like Reg!

TBow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

About 10 years ago I was working on an island in Lake Ontario, just west of Wolfe Island. The small island I was on was about 200 yards in diameter and probably no point on the island was more than 6' to 10' above the lake water level. There was no real protrusions jutting up above the ground level so it was pretty flat and there were no trees or high vegetation. The only thing that stuck up high on the island was a 60 foot lighthouse tower, which is why I was there, to work on it.

I was working by myself and the helicopter that had dropped me off had flown into a local airport for fuel and had expected to return to pick me up once I was done my work. I had completed my work and was standing at the bottom of the lighthouse, when I noticed a storm front coming my way....real fast. I could see lightning flashing on the edge of the storm from out over the lake (Lake Ontario) and I was starting to get concerned as that lighthouse, which was a 60' high steel tower, was now looking like a true to life lightning rod. There was not another item protruding from the lake for at least 3 to 4 miles in any direction all around me. It was pretty safe to say that the lighthouse was going to get hit if the storm front passed over me.

I was watching lightning bolts and counting so I could gauge the distance from me, and it was getting closer. It got to about 1-1/2 to 2 miles from me then turned south....thank goodness! I had emptied one of my plastic cargo boxes and stood inside it hoping the plastic casing might insulate any jolts in the event of a hit, but I think the multi thousands of volts from a bolt of lightning wouldn't have given that little plastic box a second thought. I think I would have had a new hair doo whenever the chopper returned for me had lightning hit the lighthouse, as I had nowhere to run or hide.

You better believe that I wiped my brow with a sigh of relief once that storm changed direction!

TBow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shaun, you better go buy a lottery ticket now! Because you are one lucky individual!!! :jaw:

Yes indeedy!

I did an oral report in college on lightning strikes and how to avoid them. Almost every source I read mentioned mentioned that if your hair starts to stand up get ready, you are about to get nailed. Nothing I read ever mentioned getting nicked by lightning.

I once saw lightning follow a powerline down the side of a house and come shooting out an outlet then went out a window.

I would say a couple extra Hail May's next Sunday in church if I were you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.