WTF?!?! Lightning just hit my neighbor's house!

[mobobuff]

A few weeks ago at work during a huge thunderstorm I decided to step outside for the atmosphere, we have a pretty large auning (sp?) so I wasn't in the rain. But then, about 100 yards down the road, lightning struck the top of a power-line pole and on the pole that was right next to the building a huge spark (it arced about 8 feet) jumped down the wood and split it apart slightly. It was extremely loud and extremely freaky, the weird thing was I could feel before I saw it or heard it.

 

[mobobuff]

Originally posted by: iloveme2

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: iloveme2

Originally posted by: TuxDave
I guess it'll be asking too much for pics huh...


j/k!!

best I can do

Is there something preventing you from actually going outside and taking a pic?

Or, at the least, raising the blinds all the way?



Something like, oh, I don't know, you're super-glued to your seat? Chained to the floor? Sitting on a bomb?

no point. there is nothing to see now. nothing caught on fire as far as i can tell.

Their house might have lightning rods to attract lightning away from the structure of the house, when lightning strikes them the electricity is immediately grounded with a plate burried a few meters in the ground.

 

[Jzero]

My house was hit twice one summer in the span of about a month! The first time it happened, it hit just above the window I was look out. Literally 2-3 feet from my head. It was a strange phenomenon. I saw the bright flash, then I felt a tingling feeling which I'm guessing was just from the heat, then I heard a SNAP as every circuit breaker in the house popped, and the thunder came last (albeit all this in just a second or two of time).

I walked downstairs and said to my parents "What just happened?!" They were sitting in the dark staring at the blank TV. We went to the basement to kick the breakers back on and there was smoke pouring out of the TV down there. Most every piece of electronic in the house was fried.

I didn't realize how lucky I was until I saw the charred spot right above the window the next morning.

The next time it happened it completely shattered one of the asbestos shingles on the exterior. We had learned our lesson from the first incident and began unplugging things at the first sign of thunder, so it wasn't quite so damaging.