Danny Neal
EF5
Enlighten me?
Too close for comfort....
- Thread starter Gaetan Cormier
- Start date
Enlighten me?
Gaetan Cormier
EF3
Well... after work today I went back to the strike site... I was a bit desapointed because I was expecting more damage then what we found.
We noticed that the bark of the tree was gone were the lightning strike occured:
The line is obvious... a tore a piece of bark from the tree in an area where it looked burnt. I found these neat little holes in the bark, they were perfectly round... insect or lightning caused? Does anybody have seen this before?
Well like I mentionne dwe expected more damage than this, but hey! the important is that we are still alive to talk about this! hehe
We noticed that the bark of the tree was gone were the lightning strike occured:
The line is obvious... a tore a piece of bark from the tree in an area where it looked burnt. I found these neat little holes in the bark, they were perfectly round... insect or lightning caused? Does anybody have seen this before?
Well like I mentionne dwe expected more damage than this, but hey! the important is that we are still alive to talk about this! hehe
Willie Dines
EF3
That is most definitely the most important thing, I agree with you 100% 
I've never had the oppertunity to view the stripped bark of that tree that have been struck before, but I suspect that the holes are from the lightning strike itself, because if you look at the right edge of the piece of bark, a large portion of that edge is perfectly rounded, and it looks to be where the main trunk of the bolt went through, as the rest of the edges seem to be jagged, from when it was blasted off by the explosive heat.
In saying that, I don't really know for sure, and so I'm not really qualified to say if it was the strike of insects that created the little holes, but I suspect that it is more lightning damage, than insect damage, but I'm very open minded at the moment.
What are your thoughts on this people?
Willie
I've never had the oppertunity to view the stripped bark of that tree that have been struck before, but I suspect that the holes are from the lightning strike itself, because if you look at the right edge of the piece of bark, a large portion of that edge is perfectly rounded, and it looks to be where the main trunk of the bolt went through, as the rest of the edges seem to be jagged, from when it was blasted off by the explosive heat.
In saying that, I don't really know for sure, and so I'm not really qualified to say if it was the strike of insects that created the little holes, but I suspect that it is more lightning damage, than insect damage, but I'm very open minded at the moment.
What are your thoughts on this people?
Willie
Andrew Pritchard
EF5
Quite the strike for sure... being that close is always frightening! At least you were in your car though! Too many times I've felt the force of the bolt in the skin and hair on my body. It takes a VERY strong bolt to do major damage to a tree. Most of them aren't going to leave noticeable damage that you'll see without looking for it. Imagine if every bolt did... pretty much every tree in town would have half it's side missing. The holes in the piece of bark and almost certainly insect related. I don't know what would cause the lightning to put tiny circles into a tree. Any mark from the lightning would likely just be in the form of blackened wood, or wood being actually blown off, or splintered.
Willie Dines
EF3
Hey Daniel, I'm sorry for the late reply, as I didn't see your reply till now
I had a look again at the video clip, and it looks as though some debris had already left the tree and was close to the ground during that video frame that Gaetan has posted, at least that's how it looks to me, from the video clip, just to the left of the base of the tree, but I could be wrong in this, and if I am wrong, then I stand corrected
Willie
Danny Neal
EF5
Hey Daniel, I'm sorry for the late reply, as I didn't see your reply till now
I had a look again at the video clip, and it looks as though some debris had already left the tree and was close to the ground during that video frame that Gaetan has posted, at least that's how it looks to me, from the video clip, just to the left of the base of the tree, but I could be wrong in this, and if I am wrong, then I stand corrected
Willie
I will look there. I did not initially see anything, but that doesn't mean it is not there. Its hard to tell actually, at least we have some aftermath photos to know what the damage was.
Angie Norris
EF5
Yep, I agree with Andrew...the holes are insect related, either from insects themselves, or from woodpeckers going after the insects.
Willie Dines
EF3
No worries buddy
, It is hard to see, because I only noticed after several times of looking at that particular frame, but like you say, it's great to have pics of the aftermath damage, and so at least that's something
, hats off to Gaetan for going back there to take the extra images Willie
Bill Schintler
EF4
Last week here in Iowa City, IA; the folks house was hit by lightning. My Dad was standing in the kitchen – on the first floor of a two story house, and a bolt traveled from the ceiling to floor INSIDE of the room! This was immediately followed by a loud “shattering glass†sound. We have never been able to find any broken glass in the house. The next day, I ventured onto the roof and discovered a large upward bulge in the metal ridge vent along with a hole about a quarter inch in diameter vaporized in it. Beneath the ridge vent, a hole about 1 inch in diameter was blasted out of the shingles and plywood roofing materials.
This house has a Thermax-brand foil-faced insulation board attached to the interior surfaces of all exterior walls and ceilings beneath the drywall:
http://www.dow.com/styrofoam/na/pro-us/products/thermax_metal.htm
This probably made for an interesting Faraday cage effect. I think the lightning passed from the attic to the foil surface of the Thermax board, and down the wall of the room upstairs to were it intersects the kitchen ceiling. The electrical inductance of the foil surface should be much less then electrical wiring allowing for the current to travel through the walls surfaces faster then wiring. And then it apparently jumped through the room to something below the floor. There is no visible evidence on either the ceiling or floor. The whole-house surge protector (at the electrical service entry) was damaged. Electronics for the satellite TV was also damaged. One of the more interesting effects involved a color TV near an exterior wall of the house (where the currents would have traveled down the wall through the Thermax board). The TV CRT was magnetized – so that the colors were all messed up. This is the same effect as holding a magnet up to a TV or monitor screen. But I’ve never seen lightning result in a magnetized TV screen.
[FONT="]- bill[/FONT]
This house has a Thermax-brand foil-faced insulation board attached to the interior surfaces of all exterior walls and ceilings beneath the drywall:
http://www.dow.com/styrofoam/na/pro-us/products/thermax_metal.htm
This probably made for an interesting Faraday cage effect. I think the lightning passed from the attic to the foil surface of the Thermax board, and down the wall of the room upstairs to were it intersects the kitchen ceiling. The electrical inductance of the foil surface should be much less then electrical wiring allowing for the current to travel through the walls surfaces faster then wiring. And then it apparently jumped through the room to something below the floor. There is no visible evidence on either the ceiling or floor. The whole-house surge protector (at the electrical service entry) was damaged. Electronics for the satellite TV was also damaged. One of the more interesting effects involved a color TV near an exterior wall of the house (where the currents would have traveled down the wall through the Thermax board). The TV CRT was magnetized – so that the colors were all messed up. This is the same effect as holding a magnet up to a TV or monitor screen. But I’ve never seen lightning result in a magnetized TV screen.
[FONT="]- bill[/FONT]
Eric Tourangeau
EF0
This video captured by Pierre-Marc is certainly one of the most awsome shot of the summer. Incredible!! 
I have filmed a close call in August 2005... maybe you will be able to tell me if the following is some kind of distortion from the camera itself or if there is something there.... here's the frames juste before the lightning strikes and as it occurs.... do you see the large, fuzzy, orange channel going from top to ground just before the lightning become visible??!! What's that??
I have filmed a close call in August 2005... maybe you will be able to tell me if the following is some kind of distortion from the camera itself or if there is something there.... here's the frames juste before the lightning strikes and as it occurs.... do you see the large, fuzzy, orange channel going from top to ground just before the lightning become visible??!! What's that??
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