Aftermath of a lightning strike

[Llwyncelyn]

I am just retreating on the basis that they are lots out there who are qualified in matters of science and related specialist subjects!

Here we now have a parafoudre plus a coupure generale plus lots of other things.

However folks it is still not too pleasant a thing to see lightning flashing be in over Villedieu on is way to Tessy then to Vire for that seems to be the path.

I thought as a lawyer I knew one or two things but nothing like the scientists on this forum.

Please in simple speak what does one need to do to protect one's family one's house and one's pets!  Or is it in the lap of the Gods?

rdgs

[powerdesal]

Ken.

Trust in God and keep your powder dry [:P]

[Gluestick]

Statistically, the chance of being injured by lightning is actually very slim.

If one really wants to exercise paranoia, I suppose you could turn your house into a Faraday Cage!

This is in fact achieved in buildings by lacing metallic tape all over the outside and connected together.

http://www.barsbylightning.co.uk/faraday.htm

Or, of course, you could always retreat to the car when storms start!

However, you can bet that the lightning would get you between the house and the car! [6]

 

[Jonzjob]

Hi GS, what if you own a Smart car, fibre glass!? But I agree that the best faradaze cage is a 'normal' metal bodied voiture. Surrounded by a steel cage and insulated from the ground by rubber tyres, can't be bad. Bloody uncomfortable for a long time and bound to attract odd coments from the neighbours peut etra?

Probably the best way would be an old fasioned underground bomb shelter, preferably nuke proof? Otherwise just live life as it comes and just think to yourself that IF you do get struck them you are a very special persom, that one in a million [Www][8-)][blink]!!!

Nature is wonderfull isn't it!

[Gluestick]

The worst experience I had, JJ was flying!

Leaving San Antonio, Texas in a Boeing 727, a typical Texas storm was building. This was just after the disaster at Chicago O'Hare in 1979. Not a comforting backdrop.

I was right at the front and as we took off, with the 'plane adopting that typical "T" tail rush along the runway and zoom straight up for the clouds bit, we plunged straight into the clouds allright, but also sheet lightning and a cloudburst!

The door to the cockpit came smashing back with a loud bang and there was an awful smell of burning!

All I could see was the petrified face of the little blonde stewardess sitting on the jump seat in front of me to my left and the back of the crews heads, the whole thing glowing a sort of Satanic green in the instrument lighting and the rain smashing into the screens and the wipers trying and failing to clear some visibility!

As the lightning crashed around the aircraft, few of the 120 odd pax felt they would see Houston, our scheduled stopover!

We did.

 

[Framboise]

Gawd, that would have put me off forever.   My worst storm experience was whilst camping in Kalbarri NW Australia when the tail-end of a tropical storm came in and walloped the National Park with avengence.   It rained so hard that the water just rose out of the ground so we were evacuated to the only building n the site - the camp kitchen - where we fished out others belongings as they sailed past in the torrent.  Quite scary.

Not the first time been flooded though.   In 1968 when I was a girl our home town as flooded, like up North at the moment, but as a child it was exciting to be evacated on a DUKW through flooded streets.   My friend actually surfed down the street as the main surge came in!  Grandad was none too impressed to get out of bed next morning to find his slippers floating around under the bed though, and to this day the bungalow still has a high tide mark around the building.   Maybe I should be called Noah?? 

[Pierre ZFP]

That's a lot scarier than anything I've experianced with the weather.  The worst I had was when staying at a house in the Lot.  Lightning hit a post carrying the power line to the house.  Enormous bang and flash and some of the house electrics fried but no real harm done.

I remember seeing a TV program (Horizon?) about lightning and seeing super slo-mo shots of strikes where the lightning comes out of the sky but does not touch the ground.  The last 10 to 30 metres, the lightning comes up out of the ground to meet the downwards bolt.  Very common apparently.  It also explains why you should not stand under a tree in a storm.  More people are killed with side strikes coming out of said tree than strikes in the open air.  According to the TV prog anyway.  If caught in the open in lightning, don't stand up and don't lay down, the potential difference between head and feet is enough to stop your heart if struck.  You should crouch down with feet together, head tucked in and arms around your knees.  This will make you less of a target and reduce the potential difference across parts of your body.  Course, you might look a bit of a dork if you do that in the High Street!

[Gluestick]

Before we bought our house in France, we spent two consecutive years on Greek islands; the last being Paxos, which is in the Ionian Sea.....................

Paxos has no airport, so you go by either the inter-island ferry - which is huge! - of on Russian-built hydrofoils, from Corfu, which are muchos rapido but bouncy!

Et alors, on the way back after two glorious weeks of playing boats and trying to drown each other, as the pax assembled at the dockside in Paxos, thunder grumbled in the distance. It was incrediby humid, hot and threatening.

Midway between the two islands, the storm broke; into a full blown gale and lightning storm. We spent the majority of the journey on the little midships decks, being soaked by the bucketing rain and spray (shorts, \ T shirt and flipflops don't offer much weather protection!), and watching bolts of lightning smashing into the sea no more than 100 yards (or in French money say 92,3 metres) away from the boat!

TheGreat British Traveller abroad, of course jostles and barges for the "Best Seats", which in the 'foils are midships to forwards: the last place one wants to be in any seaway! Best is the stern cabin, as it bounces less and sways hardly at all. And since the crew couldn't run up on the 'foils, we crawled, which made the boar corkscrew.

The crew, completely unfazed, were running backwards and forwards dishing out paper bags and large rolls of paper towels: and grinning the while! As, I must confess, was smug I.

When we landed, at last, there were a lot of green-jowled faces around................

Meanwhile, in Corfu, the storm still rumbled around the sky. When we finally took off for Blighty, we had only just sort of reached the point of seat belts off and drinks trolleys starting to be prepared when we hit the most awful air pocket and turbulence I have ever, ever experienced in quite a bit of flying!

The Boeing 757, with about 145 pax, dropped probably 4-5,000 feet, like an insane lift!

I have never seen free fall conditions before: I hope not to again! Women with long hair found their thatch simply floated up and banged on the cabin roof. 145 people shrieked simultaneously and boy, were there some white faces and knuckles! Me included! That large Jamiesons sure tasted good!

These days, I find I don't have turbulence problems: with the Chunnel! [blink]

 

 

 

[trumpet]

This time last year we got hit by a doozy. We had a few bangs and whizzes and as a result the trip kept going. My neighbour came over to ask if I could turn her (gotta be careful here[:$]) electric back on.

 

Whilst I was over helping her,, another bolt came. It hit the door of the house with an almighty crack.

 

No damage though. Except the trip went again. And a change of trousers needed.[:)]

 

When I got back to my place I found my ol'lady and Lizamay (boxer doggie) hiding under the table downstairs.

 

What had happened was. We have a big girder (used to be a barn) over double doors. The bolt hit that and careered across the room.

 

Lizamay was sitting in front of the doors, and when the bolt hit she shot across the room. (it did not hit her)

 

It must have been the same bolt as hit my neighbours place. Same time anyway.

 

Not much damage. The modem had it, even though I had it going through one of those things that you were talking about earlier. Not a cheap one either. And what was really bazaar. Three light bulbs upstairs from the ceiling all blew. Those long lasting jobbies too!

 

As a foot note. Lizamay was very ill with cancer. We had to have her put to sleep not long after. (I have never gotten over that) Before the strike she could hardly get about, and yet after, she was almost her old self for a couple of days.

 

 

[Jonzjob]

Aircraft do get struck by lightning, but once again it's a faradaze cage... About the only thing that has to be done is to do a compass swing to recalibrate the magnetic compass. Yess they still have a mag compass and the strike usually disorientates the sensor, usually put in one wing tip. So if all else fails at  least they know which direction they are going [8-|].. Those lovely big white puffy clouds, cu-nimbus, are ones that aircraft avoid. They look nice and fulffy, but they have ben known to tear the wings off of aireplanz before now! The air currents in them can be incredible and can be very destructive too.

Sorry GS, but you wouldn't get me in the tunnel. The longest tunnel I have ventured into was the Mont Blanc tunnel, before theat horrible accident. Both ways and never again. Anything happens in a tunnel and you are in BIG trouble as far as I am concerned. Give me flying any time!

But as the old R.A.F. expression says "Birds and fools fly for a living and birds don't fly at night!" OK I know that generalisations are always wrong ([8-)]?), but I still believe that expression.

[Gluestick]

Only 35 mins, Jonz.

Recline the seat and doze  .zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

[bejay]

[quote user="Llwyncelyn"]

Please in simple speak what does one need to do to protect one's family one's house and one's pets!  Or is it in the lap of the Gods?

[/quote]

It sounds like you have dealt with the electrical systems inside your house.but are there any trees or chimneys that could be brought down on your property.These events seem to me to be much more potentially dangerous than the lightning strike itself..There is also some degree of faraday cage protection in a house particularly if it is wet as it is very likely to be. Perhaps you could find out if there is any local official view about  lightning conductors.

A few years ago had the good fortune to see a substantial ground strike occur about 25 metres away. We were in a French motorway service station forced off the road by torrential rain.For about a millisecond there was a a lot of blue light and a very considerable amount of noise and fuss and then nothing. As far as I could see there was no evidence of after effects.  I suppose if the grass had been dry it might have started a fire, but in that rain there was no chance.

Learn to enjoy them. The risk is very small.

bj

 

 

[powerdesal]

I love thunder and lightening storms, the more violent the better. We had fabulous ones in the rainy season in Central Africa. Even a few seconds of flash blindness after a strike on a tree in our garden (about 5m away) didn't curb my liking.

Maybe I'm a bit weird, but my OH also likes them - a pair of weirdos[:P]

[Gluestick]

Nowadays, I thoroughly enjoy a good storm.

Many years ago I did not; this was only due to my late Mother, bless her. She was petrified of electrical storms and naturally passed this massive fear onto her kids.

Mw wife helped me to overcome this irational fear.

My new-found aplomb was put to the test when I was in Mexico, meeting members of  the government and senior members of the civil service for a long discussion about a specific project.

I thought I was suddenly at the Somme or somewhere similar when the storm started out of the blue!

It was the first time I actually experienced walking through a fog; caused by the water precipitated being turned to moisture by the sun: my first experience of a semi-tropical climate.