When Lightning Strikes

[gary_in_neenah]

We all have heard the sound, we have all seen the damage, we all have seen the strikes from a distance, but few of us have seen lightning up close and personal. The link below is from a security camera at one of our area high schools. Rather shocking you might say!

https://www.wbay.com/2021/04/09/nee...-makes-timber-of-tree-at-wautoma-high-school/​

 

[wirev]

Wow, saw that last night. Didn't hear where it was from. And yes, shocking.

 

[buddah2]

A couple decades ago I was driving down a wooded road out in the country when lightening hit a tree approx. 20 ft off the road on driver's side...tree glowed like a brilliant glow-stick and it blew most of the bark off of the trunk...since I was in a large SUV with windows up no harm, no foul...BUT...I've had a REALLY healthy respect for it ever since...as in leaving golf course if any lightening anywhere in area while being ridiculed by my naive friends...YMMV

 

[eyeman]

That's one awesome way to remove a tree. How can people get struck and survive?

 

[buddah2]

... How can people get struck and survive?

<br><br>The ones that survive, and I'm guessing here after seeing this up close & personal, are more than likely indirect strikes...i.e. something close to them (tree, whatever) got the direct hit and they got "zapped" by radiated energy...I too can't believe anybody would survive a direct strike<br>
<br>

 

[whitedust]

I was staining my house in Phelps heard a lazy tstorm coming didn’t take it seriously. It started to lightly rain and I figured done staining. Closed up my can went in to change clothes. Started to rain hard so I decided to go back out get the can of stain out of the rain. I had can in hand headed back in and wham lighting took out a maple tree 30-40 feet away scared the heck out of me couldn’t believe I was alive. The tree splittered fell straight down. All the outlets on that side of the house were I was standing blew out and had to be replaced right where I was standing. It was a couple weeks until I had time to cut up and split the downed tree. That maple was hard as a rock to saw up so the lighting did something to it looked normal but sure was hard from the lighting strike.

 

[Admin]

I saw a moored sailboat get struck one time. Welded the halyard to the mast. Poor owner had no idea why he could not raise the main!<br>Our driveway got struck and the charge traveled to the house. Blew out all of the electronics.<br><br>The reason the tree blew up is because the moisture inside it was super heated and expanded rapidly.<br><br>When a human is struck, most of the charge travels on the skin to the ground. Different amounts do travel through the inside of the body. Depending on the amount, it can damage internal organs like the brain, heart, etc.

 

[gary_in_neenah]

<br><br>The ones that survive, and I'm guessing here after seeing this up close & personal, are more than likely indirect strikes...

You mean like this guy?.......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGR6Wk3Kboo

 

[buddah2]

Interestingly enough somebody posted a video on FB this AM of a lone pine tree being zapped by a direct hit...exactly as I described what I saw...can't remember who posted it though...