Closest up anyone seen lightning?

[Fira]

Me about 27 feet away.

Kinda off-topic but please remember:

Rubber cannot protect anyone from lightning because air is also an insulator of electricity yet lightning has on average gone through about 1 mile of air so atleast about 2 miles tall/thick/both of rubber would be needed to be protecting of a lightning bolt(s).

30/30 rule is useless because lightning has traveled 50+ miles of air before.

NEVER PLEASE NEVER (maybe with exception of needed to unplug to avoid tripping(s) for example) unplug anything if lightning is seen, thunder is heard, both and wait about 40 minutes until the last observed lightning/thunder/both before plugging/unplugging anything.

[slamjet]

Across the street. Set the neighbors garage roof on fire. It is weird when the light and sound hit ya at the exact same time, and with a whole lot of power to boot!

[Guest xforeverxmetalx]

Lightning struck my high school as I was right outside one of the buildings.

And more recently, though I didn't actually see it [i was trying to sleep], I was flying in an airplane that got hit by it.

[Jennarator]

Just a few feet away. I went to Florida on my mission, tons of lightning there.

[Wingnut]

NEVER PLEASE NEVER (maybe with exception of needed to unplug to avoid tripping(s) for example) unplug anything if lightning is seen, thunder is heard, both and wait about 40 minutes until the last observed lightning/thunder/both before plugging/unplugging anything.

This wording is confusing to me. Never unplug, but wait before replugging? Should we unplug or not? If not, why not?

[slamjet]

If there's a lightning storm, unplug the computer and other sensitive electronics. I've blown two computer power supplies from transient spikes running along power lines. But if it strikes close by, then anticipate losing electronics. Lightning struck the satellite dish at the Stake center here, and we found routers, computers, sat equipment that had died or malfunctioned because of massive EMF. It was a huge pain for months as electronics slowly dropped dead.

[Wingnut]

If there's a lightning storm, unplug the computer and other sensitive electronics. I've blown two computer power supplies from transient spikes running along power lines. But if it strikes close by, then anticipate losing electronics. Lightning struck the satellite dish at the Stake center here, and we found routers, computers, sat equipment that had died or malfunctioned because of massive EMF. It was a huge pain for months as electronics slowly dropped dead.

That's what I've always thought, but the OP sounds like he's saying not to unplug things, and I'm trying to figure out (1) if I got that right, and (2) what his reasoning is.

[Backroads]

I'd guess about 10 feet? Right outside our car. Got the car and I felt the jolt.

[Guest]

That's what I've always thought, but the OP sounds like he's saying not to unplug things, and I'm trying to figure out (1) if I got that right, and (2) what his reasoning is.

What the OP said is - don't unplug anything when you see lightning. Wait 45 minutes before you touch any plugs - either to unplug or replug (assuming you unplugged it before you saw lightning). You could get electricuted...

Me... less than 10 feet probably. I was sitting by the window, my vision turned white, then i hear this "crack!" like the earth just split open. My son rushes out from his bedroom with his hair standing up (his bedroom is on the same side of the house). Our power goes out. I'm like... whoa. I thought the lightning just hit the front yard. I look out the window (it was raining so hard, I couldn't see much) but didn't see anything amiss. That afternoon, I leave the house to go somewhere and I ran over some shingles on the driveway. I'm like.. what? There was a 10 foot hole in our roof - right above my head when I was sitting by that window - burnt shingles were all over my front yard... so yeah. We were lucky!

[slamjet]

This explains Backroads and Anatess, so I guess the rest of us are naturally nutty.

[Traveler]

Me about 27 feet away.

Kinda off-topic but please remember:

Rubber cannot protect anyone from lightning because air is also an insulator of electricity yet lightning has on average gone through about 1 mile of air so atleast about 2 miles tall/thick/both of rubber would be needed to be protecting of a lightning bolt(s).

30/30 rule is useless because lightning has traveled 50+ miles of air before.

...

Lightning takes the path of least resistance. In most cases air is ionized prior to lighting passing through it. Wearing rubber boots can help depending on what other options the lighting has.

The Traveler

[Backroads]

This explains Backroads and Anatess, so I guess the rest of us are naturally nutty.

No, no, I was nutty before this. This was only back in college.

[Guest]

This explains Backroads and Anatess, so I guess the rest of us are naturally nutty.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

[Iggy]

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

The lighting hit the corner of the house - single wide trailer house. I had unplugged everything except the dryer, range and the telephone. The dryer and range were okay- but it actually fried the phone.

I had a white, AT&T, answering cordless phone. The entire thing burned up. The cordless handset was melted to the base and the tape inside the machine was melted. Really, really pissed me off. I had just bought it a few days previously and spent, at that time, a small fortune for it-$110.00.

We had been having lots of lightening storms, and so many people were having electronic appliances hit by the lightening. My neighbor had lighting hit his 8' satellite dish and travel through the lines and pass through his house- blew out the TV, stereo, and everything that had been plugged into the power strip that the TV was connected to.

The only good thing that came of those summer lightning storms was it hit and annihilated the paper wasp nest in the tree in my back yard area. We estimated that the nest was about 5.5 feet long and about 3 to 4 feet around. I saw it get hit and catch on fire. Had binoculars and didn't see any wasps getting free. The tree was a HUGE fir tree up on the hill (I had 5 acres of land, trees, etc.).

[pam]

I've always been taught to never take a shower during a lightning storm. Water is great conductor. Don't know how true that is but I've followed it anyway as it makes sense to me. :)

[Iggy]

I've always been taught to never take a shower during a lightning storm. Water is great conductor. Don't know how true that is but I've followed it anyway as it makes sense to me. :)

If your pipes are metal AND the electrical to the house is grounded to the water pipe then it is dangerous. Main electrical are NOT to be grounded to anything that is attached to the home. They are to be attached to grounding rods- 6 to 8 foot lengths of solid metal- either copper or galvanized that is pounded into the ground near the main electrical coming from the power lines and extending about 1 foot above ground.

My Mother would never let us near a window during an electrical/lightning storm. When she was a child, a neighbor boy was hit by lightning and killed - he was sitting at a window watching the lightning bolts.

For the couple of years that this area had a lot of electrical storms, I tried to get a lightning rod installed on/near my home. No one here had ever heard of such a thing. I worked at the local hardware store and my boss tried to get me one. Finally found a company in the Dakota's, but the cost to ship plus the cost of the rod was way more than I could afford.

I just made sure that all plugs were within easy access to unplug.

[JudoMinja]

I saw a bolt strike a block away when we were driving once. That's the closest I've ever been. My grandfather, however, was struck by lightning twice. The first time he was resting under a tree. The second time he was sitting on his recliner in his living room.

[tysonthehunter]

I remeber that one hit down th eroad from me, the sky lite up white white and heard a giant KAPOW!!!! i was out home teaching too, it was really cool^_^

[bytebear]

I was in the welcome tent outside the Oquirrh Mountain Temple at the open house when it was struck by lightening. I have pictures of Moroni pre and post lightening strike.

[Blackmarch]

I've always been taught to never take a shower during a lightning storm. Water is great conductor. Don't know how true that is but I've followed it anyway as it makes sense to me. :)

water does not conduct electricity, however its the stuff that's dissolved in the water that conducts it.