Lightning Strike

Can you please check the point where the charge went into the ground?

That is was the soil changed?

I can not see any exact spot except where the bolt actually hit the fence. The fence is about 250' long and has a 4" dia. post every 10'. There are still weeds touching the fence . It appeared that the entire fence was electrified as it lit up a blueish-green when it was struck. i can see no change in the soil anywhere near the 4" posts.

netmaker

Thanks for looking.

I had to ask. When I was a boy I saw a spot where the lightning struck but was cautious of touching it. When I returned later I could not find it.

I believe we discussed that in the ball lightening thread, yes?

-John

You were extremely fortunate in this instance. Extremely. At least it wasn't a positive stroke, which can travel miles and originates from near the top of the storm (most cloud-to-ground strokes originate near the cloud base and are negative). A positive stroke and you wouldn't be here posting your experiences.

Apparently the Good Lord has more work here on Earth for you to do!

From what I have read, lightning emanates from the ground and goes UP! No matter, the results are the same. The bottom line is to avoid anything that can be considered a "lightning rod" when encountering lightning storms.

I once saw a show on this belief and even their own recordings didn't prove it. What you would see, just before the lightning struck, was an aura (my best description) extend from the ground/object maybe a few feet into the air, then the lightning striking it. The lightning still originated from the sky, there was just an "attraction point" that originated prior to the strike.

Lightning can propagate in either direction, can be of either polarity, can even reverse polarity during a strike, and both optical and electromagnetic measurements do prove it. Lightning researchers use a specialized camera - a so-called Boys camera - to progressively image a lightning strike in progress. There is a great deal of lightning-research literature available in print and on the Internet.

I have heard that lightning goes from the ground up too, but in my years on the water as a commercial fisherman I have seen more sky to water hits. I was two different boats that were hit by lightning and the radio's were burned out as was a starter motor.....but no injuries otherwise.

This hit was just soooooooo close it made me wonder. the actual size of the bolt was very skinny and narrow it seemed.

netmaker

WOW! Sounds like you got a dose of "welders flash burn" in your eyes as well as the acoustic shock to your auditory system. Unfortunately even one exposure to acoustic shock causes some hearing losses in the high frequency ranges.

Lightening often follows the path of greatest humidity. From what I've read atmospheric humidity is never uniform, varying as much as 50% within 100 meters of reading locations. Streams of high humidity air drift through the atmospheric "sea" and often provide conductive paths for lightning from as far as 10 kilometers or more from the originating cloudbase.

When we were little kids and afraid of thunder, my Grandpa told this story:

Grandpa and his brothers were hauling a big load of hay, and a storm was brewing. They drove the horses as fast as they could, determined to get the hay back to the barn before the rain started. As they passed a tree, there was a huge flash of light... When the boys came to, they were lying on the ground and the tree was split in two. The horses and wagon had long ago arrived at the barn without them!

The moral of the story, according to Grandpa: Don't be afraid of thunder. If you can hear it, the lightning missed you.

That is now a proven fact at my place........

netmaker