Ultra CLOSE Lightning Strike !

[Kevin Norton]

Hey All,

On 9 JUN here at Boston we had a cold frontal thunderstorm event. Fairly high winds (G 50), brief torrential rain, some trees down in the area, blah,blah, blah.

After the storm had "passed off " (note the quotations) to the East I went out to observe the storm "pushing away".

Now before anyone "informs" me, I know that if you can hear thunder you can be struck, lightning is a significant thunderstorm killer, you shouldn't go outside ( etc). I fully understand this, but at times have "rolled the dice" .I DO NOT suggest to ANYONE to take chances with lightning. STAY INSIDE !

But I (I ,ME, I) took the chance and went out to my usual observation spot a few blocks away.

We still had frequent lightning within 2.5 mi or so East, but only light rain and the main focus of the cloud to gnd activity had "SEEMED" to be well pushed off.

But suddenly a heavy steel streetcar pole around 80 to 100 ft away from me got struck by a white bolt. There was an immediate crack/boom but not excessively loud.It didn't really startle me that much and (stupidly) I actually thought it was kind of cool ,despite the very close call ( I was actually on higher ground, maybe 30 or so ft ABOVE the pole's base). The bolt was VERY short lived and not overly bright (like me ,ha, ha). A good sized puff of steam or smoke rose up but quickly dissipated.

This was an isolated event without repeat, no further close strikes were experienced during the storm. I DID drift back to my house though.

After the storm I examined the pole and found NO trace of strike whatsoever.My feeling is that this bolt was mostly voltage and not too much current, given the very short duration and lack of any strike signature.However I am sure that it DID have enough current to "cook my goose" had it chosen me instead of the pole. I am glad I left the 9 iron at home.

To sum , stupid, and I have more respect now for storm safety and less reliance on my "judgment".

K

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Anyone who has gone chasing will encounter a close lighting strike. Had my fair share, and can say that most of the lightning strikes occurred while I was in my car. Best place to be for a lightning strike; poor place to be if caught by a tornado. If in a car; the lighting will travel along the sheet metal and exit to the ground by the wheels/tires. The 'Faraday's Cage' effect keeps you safe, just so long as you aren't touching anything inside the car that is attached to its frame.

My closest encounter of this kind was a mere 5 yards away. That is an experience that I don't want to repeat. However; the nature of storm chasing dictates that if you are close enough to a tornado/cell - then you are certainly close enough to get struck. I think there is more than one member here that have gotten indirect strikes. Although not as dangerous as a direct strike, they still carry significant and long lasting heath effects. Take every precaution each time you are out there! Not to be trifled with - IMO . . .

"Captain Obvious" - signing off..................

 

[Keith Wilson]

I was watching a storm from a cemetery (morbid, I know) located on a hill and across the highway from a power substation a couple of years ago. A forked bolt of lightning struck not only the substation the hundred yards or so away, but also a tall angel grave marker 20 yards away and a pine tree 5 yards behind my truck. It was not raining, the storm was in the decaying stage, and I had just gotten back into my truck after a brief excursion to snap a few pics. An older man tending a grave about 70 yards away nearly busted his kneecap on a headstone trying to get back to his vehicle.
It was an "enlightening" experience that reaffirmed what I already knew: Don't let your guard down around a storm.

 

[Jason Foster]

In observation, I have noticed and read the same that you mentioned about the lightning not being too extremely loud or bright. I believe in the case of the thunder's volume is that in fact you were close enough that the "shockwave" of the lightning had not fully formed or was spread in distance enough with your close proximity that, in part, was why it wasn't as loud as expected.

Brightness wise...I'm only guessing that it might be similar, but have read almost nothing about it, but just guessing similar physics behind that.

 

[Kevin Norton]

Hey Jason,

I had also kind of come up with that notion some years ago- That if one is TOO close PERHAPS you are within the sonic "envelope" and it won't be EXTREMELY loud (just a loud crack/boom) compared to a few hundred more feet away from the strike.My son was at home a bit further away and he said it was "LOUD" !! But I cannot say how loud compared to what I heard or whether it was just the CLOSENESS of the strike that "got his attention". Just a theory here, not hard facts to back any of this up.

I still hold to the idea that bolts vary (GREATLY) on voltage to current ratio.As a kid I saw (after the storm was over) a 5 ft diameter oak that had EXPLODED and got shredded into 4 or 5 sections due to a HUGE bolt that went through the MIDDLE (unusual) of the tree ( FWIW this stroke also caused ball lightning to come down next door to me, go through a porch screen, go through a door screen and terminate as a large black spray on a wall plug behind a fridge).

I have also seen bolts cause light "scratches" or a bit deeper "troughs",especially in (soft) pine bark.They had a varying degrees of charring (usually not that much). Some were just fresh slits cut into the bark with NO carbon at at.

Some years ago I had seen a vinyl sided garage show a light brown sinuous surface burn trace, with no bubbles.

At the weakest end of the scale , the bolt that hit the pole a few days ago left NO trace, not even the smallest scorch. I feel the voltage dictates the arcing distance achieved and the current the amount of damage and loudness of the thunder. Again ,no hard facts ,just a theory.But one I have a good bit of faith in.In physics current does the "work" ,not voltage.


Kevin Norton , N1NQC

 

[Kirk Chestnut]

On one occasion, I was in a basement during a storm with a sump pump behind me. There was a loud crack-sizzle and flash, then as if someone was walking up behind me with a welder, I saw my shadow dance on the wall, large at first and quickly shrank in size. Dad said a fire ball shot out of the pump and rolled along the floor.

Later, my "antenna farm" (a 20' pipe) out back of the house took a direct hit. My 2 meter antenna took the brunt of the stroke as well as my Davis weather station, GFI outlet, garden lights, shop light and a DVD player. It sounded like someone fired a 12 ga. shotgun outside the window. Since then, I installed a 1" copper strap between the pole to the house electrical main ground rod. I've taken a couple more hits since then, but have apparently reduced the differential between "house ground" and "true ground." It still makes my hair stand on end every time we take a hit!

 

[Kevin Norton]

Hey Kirk,

Hopefully our lightning season will be on the wane over the next few weeks.The differential between air masses should start to "relax" soon and by early/mid JUL P.M. "air mass" storms (generally with far less lightning) should start to rule the day (IF we even get them).

But of course this is only an average narrative and each year can and or will vary to any degree of extent.There have been years we've been clobbered with bad lightning for much/most of the summer. Other summers are hot dry , cool dry or cool moist. It's said that New England has some of the most variable weather in the world.

FWIW, I only have a very limited ability to "handle" a lightning pulse (or,gulp,a direct strike).Anything would path through the A.C.wiring gnd or piping.Two of my coax runs (2 M beam ,10 M receive dipole) can be broken up at the rigs and at barrels along the runs . The 902 Mhz transceiver can only be removed from the rig, but it's ant is mounted just outside the window.So that coax always comes into my room.The single long wire (crystal radio/general purpose) antenna feed can be removed up, at the roof if need be.

Kevin Norton N1NQC

 

[Travis Wilson]

In Aug. 2009 my pickup was struck by lightning while I was driving on I-35 south out of Perry OK. A storm had just passed thru, but I thought it was basically over. I wasn't chasing, just coming home from some oilfield work.
I was going 70mph when a rather high pitched, not overly loud, moderately bright bolt hit my radio antenae just in front of the passenger's seat. It kinda made a "cheeeeeeuuuuuwwwwww" sound.
I didn't feel any shock, and I didn't immediately realize that it actually hit my vehicle.
Then I noticed my truck wasn't running and I had to coast over. It melted my antenea, fried the vehicle computers and other electronics. Insurance paid $7000 to get it all fixed.
An unintended faraday cage test I guess.....

 

[Kevin Norton]

Hey Travis,

I have also heard an odd sound during a strike.MANY years ago when I lived at Medway,MA we had a vicious storm after dark. During one strike I heard a "weeeeeeeeeee" sound similar to a jet engine warming up, then a delay and the "conventional" thunder.

My GUESS is that due to a seeming "speed of light " velocity involved here, that ("somehow") energy was directly introduced into the auditory nerves , thus causing such a sound.The odd thing was that the strike was NOT ultra close, the thunder delay was of a "decent" length.I experienced this phenomena only this one time.

FWIW the same storm also produced around 6 patches of deep red glow ,similar to fireworks in fog.These had a VERY long lifespan, MUCH longer than even the worst bolts I had ever seen in any storm.Some seemed to glow as long as 4 or 5 seconds.I have also only seen this once in my life.

At Medway I also saw my "record" of strikes per minute.I saw a distant night time storm firing off at around 120 to 150 strikes per minute.It never came close and our weather remained fair the entire night.

Kevin Norton N1NQC