Storm brewing!

[Bob Wright]

i had had coffee with my friend this morning and as I was driving home lightning bolts danced across a dark and foreboding sky.

One time, many years ago, we, Nita and I, were coming home from church one Sunday night when a violent thunder storm struck. I was passing a tall power pole, maybe 100 feet tall and 24" diameter, galvanized steel, when a lightning bolt struck the top of it. There was an impact on the rear quarter of my car, a pretty severe jolt, and balls of lightning, about the size of softballs, danced down the wet street in front of me,skittering along like welding sparks on wet concrete. It was, to say the least, an awesome display.

About a month later, saw nearly the same thing, same place.


Bob Wright

 

[Merle1948]

i had had coffee with my friend this morning and as I was driving home lightning bolts danced across a dark and foreboding sky.

One time, many years ago, we, Nita and I, were coming home from church one Sunday night when a violent thunder storm struck. I was passing a tall power pole, maybe 100 feet tall and 24" diameter, galvanized steel, when a lightning bolt struck the top of it. There was an impact on the rear quarter of my car, a pretty severe jolt, and balls of lightning, about the size of softballs, danced down the wet street in front of me,skittering along like welding sparks on wet concrete. It was, to say the least, an awesome display.

About a month later, saw nearly the same thing, same place.


Bob Wright

Don't think I'd go back there any more...... :shock:

 

[coach]

I used to have a place on the water with a long view westward from where the summertime thunderstorms would roll in. I loved sitting in the covered porch and watch the rain and lightning move in. As a result I have a healthy respect for lightning. Those high metal poles and sailboat masts are something I don't like to be around when the lightning starts crackling.

 

[427mach1]

About a month later, saw nearly the same thing, same place.

Bob Wright

So lightning does strike twice?

 

[SAJohn]

Ball lighting is a rare phenomena. You are lucky man to have seen it. I have read that a few people have been killed by direct contact.

 

[Pat-inCO]

I think I would go to the power company and ask them when they last
checked the grounding on their pole.

I had one at my house about thirty years ago, just after I put up a 30
foot antenna on top of my house. I did the installation correctly with
dual ground connections. About a week later I was out in the back
patio when everything went white, then as the white began to subside
there was a HUGE boom.

Went inside and looked out the front window. Strange brown debris
all over the road. A few minutes later the idiot across the street was
standing in a puddle of water, on the grass, looking up at his tree.

I waited a half hour until the storm was gone and then went out to
check on what happened. The debris on the street was the bark from
the neighbor's tree. The lightning had struck the tree and blown out a
four inch wide strip of bark, down the side. At the base of the tree was
a hole about four inches in diameter going WAY down into the ground.

My antenna was untouched and I lost . . . nothing . . . electrical.
HE lost everything that was plugged in. All kitchen appliances, all of
the living room entertainment equipment, most of his lamps, etc.

If lightning had struck twice there, he would not have been able to
complain, about anything. :roll:

 

[Colonialgirl]

I used to have a place on the water with a long view westward from where the summertime thunderstorms would roll in. I loved sitting in the covered porch and watch the rain and lightning move in. As a result I have a healthy respect for lightning. Those high metal poles and sailboat masts are something I don't like to be around when the lightning starts crackling.

A well built sailboat with an Aluminum mast generally has a grounding strap to the waters surface, Not to mention the stays of Stainless steel that run to mounts that also touch the water. My old Ketch had plain steel stays and Iron collars on the mast and the mounts ended just below the water line; Never got lightening struck in the 6 years we lived aboard in SoCal.

 

[Colonialgirl]

About a month later, saw nearly the same thing, same place.

Bob Wright

So lightning does strike twice?

The second strike was proably two or three inches to one side of the other strike.

:shock: :shock: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink: :wink:

 

[eveled]

Sounds like a good place for a web cam. I'd love to see what you described, but not in person.

 

[toysoldier]

My brother and I saw ball lightning drift overhead as we waited in the car for our mother to return from the store. We were probably under 10, but, having read about it in The Weekly Reader, we knew what it was. While we were living in Jefferson County south of St. Louis, lightning struck the neighbor's very large maple, blowing bark off radially and killing it. We also lost a large maple in our yard to lightning, but none of the equally large oaks were struck. Maybe the sugary sap of maples is a better conductor.

My late father-in-law told me that the wood from a lightning-struck tree was worthless, as it could never be smoothed out for a good finish.

 

[427mach1]

About a month later, saw nearly the same thing, same place.

Bob Wright

So lightning does strike twice?

The second strike was proably two or three inches to one side of the other strike.

:shock: :shock: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wink: :wink:

What's two or three inches when you are talking up to a billion volts!