🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi There:

    I would like to share some of my personal knowlege/experiance in the hopes it
may help to calm your nerves somewhat !  First of all, being a Firefighter for the
past ten years, I can relate to you some of my on the job experiances.
    Contrary to popular belief, lightning strikes from the ground up.  It is true
that you would feel some form of eerie sensation if you were in the immediate area
of an impending lightning strike.  Somewhat on the same line if you were charged
with static electricity.  You would feel your hair on your arms standing up, and
also the hair on your head would feel like it were trying to stand up.
    If lightning were to strike your home, it would simultaneously produce an
incredible, deafening boom.  Also, with housing construction standards of today,
the bolt of lightning would find the closest, fastest ground fault in your home.
Meaning, the electrical system of your home is a grounded system.  The electricity
produced from a lightning bolt would more than likely trip all of your fuses, and
then be harmlessly dispersed by your home's grounding mechanism.
    There is also the possibility of structural damage, and fire around the point
of strike.  Additionally, there is the risk of electronic equipment being damaged
during a strike.  Televisions, microwaves, computers, stereos, telephones, and
electrical wiring itself may be damaged.  In my ten years of being a firefighter,
I can honestly say I have only witnessed very minor damage during lightning
strikes.  I have seen as little as smouldering shingles at the point of strike,
and two televisions shorted out in my ten years.  Of course, this was in homes
that were of sound construction, and updated electrical service (grounded).
    Conversely, I have seen church steeples blown apart, or burned off.  This, in
my opinion, is due to the fact that they are notoriously NOT grounded.
    As far as actions to take....  I have always practiced never to use the phone
during a storm, and by all means stay out of the tub or shower !  Iron pipes
conduct electricity !!  As far as running around the house unplugging everything,
that sounds a bit extreme.  My Grandmother used to do that, and I never understood
why.  Homeowners insurance covers that kind of damage, if it ever were to occur
anyways.
    On a much more personal note, I have been within 10 feet of a lightning strike
myself.  There is about 12 feet between my neighbors home and my own.  Between our
homes is my paved driveway, with a chain link fence dividing the property lines.
About 3 years ago, I was walking out of my home, down my driveway, next to the
fence.  I felt kind of funny, like a tingly feeling, and it was in the middle of a
thunderstorm.  As soon as I realized what I was feeling, a bolt of lightning
struck less than 10 feet in front of me, striking the fence.
    It all happened in a fraction of a second, but I remember feeling tingly, I
knew what it was, and I looked up from my arm and the bolt struck.  At the moment
it struck, I remember a faint buzzing sound that got progressively louder.  At the
time it seemed to get VERY audible, there was a loud crackling sound as the bolt
struck the fence.  Then the loudest boom I have ever heard happened as soon as I
saw the lightning bolt.  I was blown back about an additional ten feet, and was
deafened by the crack of the thunder.  All I remember when I came to my senses was
that the fence post was cherry red, and sizzling as the rain fell on it.  After
the storm passed, I went back out to look at the post, and it was blackened at the
top.  The bolt itself was like "dancing" at the top of the post, making buzzing
and crackling sounds as it was making contact.  It was both the most amazing and
the scariest thing I have ever experianced.
    All I can offer you is the following....  Be aware, but don't be alarmed.
Unless you are in the middle of a field waving iron pipes, or on a boat in the
middle of a lake, I would say your chances of a close encounter with a lightning
bolt is rather slim.  If a bolt were to strike your house, I would also say that
as long as you were not in the tub or on the phone, you would be quite safe.  You
would probably need a change of pants after, but otherwise, you would be okay.
Once you overcome your fear of the storms, take the time to admire Mother Nature's
fireworks display.  It is absolutely amazing !
    Hope this helped !

Mike

sharmakdeep@hotmail.com wrote:
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> The tornado season is here, just around the corner, and my fears are
> beginning to rise. Unless I get to know about you experiences or advices,
> I'll still be feeling worried all the more.
> 
> Just today, I've heard and seen on TV about the deadly Tornado that
> ripped apart a section of Giorgia. It was really scary just lookingA lot of what Mike says agrees with something I once saw on Public TV.

The only information I can add is if you're outdoors and feel that static
electricity Mike is talking about, then crouch down with your hands over 
the top of your head. This won't guarantee that lightning will miss you, but
lightning tends to be attracted to the tallest object.

Also, if you're outdoors, one of the safest places to be is in your metal car.
If lightning strikes your car, the chances are that it will be diverted around
the sides of your car.

Indoors during a thunder storm, try to avoid using the phone (unless
it's a portable, wireless one). Though rare, lightning has been known to
travel through the ear piece to the head.

One last piece of information I learned, but I don't know how ture it is: Lightning
doesn't strike where it is raining; but rather where it is still dry. And as a 
matter of fact, the only close by strikes I have seen were 1) lightning hitting a
nearby transformer on a telephone pole and 2) lightning hitting a crain in a 
construction area. In both cases, it was dry. In fact, when lightning hit the crain,
it was partly cloudy with some sunshine. It came suddenly and without warning.
I just happened to be glancing at the construction project when it occurred.