Fear of lightning

I'm soaking wet as I type this having just run back to my apartment in the heart of the big city as a storm of epic proportions rages all around us. Constant brilliant flashes of lightning and a nonstop cannonade of thunder create the look and sound of the apocalypse. OK, I'm exaggerating, but this storm is actually frightening in its intensity. As I ran home each brilliant explosion of lightning seemed like it had my number on it and the thunder was deafening as it ricocheted from one tall building to another while anxious people cowered in doorways to escape the onslaught.

It reminded me of the Summer when I was hiking in the Rockies up on the continental divide a few miles East of Aspen Colorado. It was late afternoon, we were near the top on an exposed ridge when the sky suddenly turned dark and we were enveloped in a furious lightning storm with thunder and lightning crashing almost simultaneously all around us. I felt, or thought I felt my hair stand up several times and I was sure I was going to be hit. I can't convey the absolute terror I felt as we lay on our bellies and tried to melt into the earth so the lightning couldn't get us. I remember thinking that this is how it must feel in combat during an artillery barrage. I had never liked being near lightning and after that experience I developed a real fear of it.

I wonder if any of you have had similar reactions.

Brightnorm

i love storms always have.lol one time there was a bad bad lighting storm it was very windy and lighting was wild so i had the bright id to go to the lake at nigght to watch it a course tress are every where .next day i thought to self thinking man that was dum

I have never feared lightning, in spite of having my grounded 50 foot amateur radio antenna tower taking a direct hit and the lightning traveling down my coaxial transmission lines and blowing boards off the side of my house where the line came inside (fortunately, the transceivers were all disconnected from the coax).

However, as a child, my eyes were always cast upward looking for the slightest hint of a cloud because for some reason I was deathly afraid the largish pond 3 blocks away from our house would flood and we would all be drowned in our sleep. I finally got up the nerve to express my fear to my folks one night, and they explained to me that it "doesn't happen that way". I never was afraid (of that) again. Now, that I think about it, a lightning bolt might not be a bad way to "go".

I love storms too and I enjoy getting soaked and hearing thunder. It's the lightning that scares me when it's really close.

BN

Oh yea, I hear you... I've personally had my hairstyle meteorogically altered on three occasions. The scariest one was about 15 miles offshore in a 21 ft. open fisherman. The fishing rods that were standing upright in their holders actually started to sing us a little song! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif Well, not really a song, pretty much just a "buzzing" sound, like a Jacob's ladder. We hauled *** out from underneath that dark cloud!

Still here though, I guess I'm just lucky. Several around here each year are not though. The lightning is part of the deal living in S. FL., the lightning capital of the U.S. (maybe the world too, but I'll need to look that one up)


Peter

I had the same experience when I was backpacking up Longs Peak in Colorado. We got caught in the open and there was no where to go. Lightning was hitting everywhere. All you can do is hope that you don't get hit.

I don't recall ever being buzzed by lightning, and I'm not particularly scared of being hit.

What terrifies me, is the monetary damage it has done to us over the years. One TV, One Remote control Stereo Reciever, Two answering machines, One 'puter and lotsa other stuff over the years.

I would imagine that being in a boat under a lightning storm would give ya religion if it didn't kill ya!

The old saying goes "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Are you stronger now Litfuse?

When I was a kid my hair would stand straight up whenever a lightning storm was approaching. It would be standing straight up even before the first thunder was heard. I guess it was just the electricity in the air but no one elses ever did it. My grandfather used to use me as a weather station if we were working in the fields or in the garden. If he saw my hair stand up we headed to the house. My other grandfather on my mothers side was hit in the head by lightning back in the 1940's. He said it came up a storm as he was plowing with his mules so he took them to the barn. Afterwards he was standing in the doorway of the barn and lightning struck him in the forehead. Next thing he remembered was waking up with a bunch of people standing around him weeping. They thought he was dead because they could not feel his pulse.
I was on my way home from work one evening and was only about a mile away from the house when I got behind a couple of other cars following a tractor. It was storming and lightning all around. A lighting bolt hit a fence post right beside me maybe 10 feet past my pasengers side door. The flash was unreal and nearly blinded me. The impact split the fence post and was strong enough that both my feet jumped off the floor. That was too close for me.
One other related story about lightning just in case I have not bored everyone to death by now. My grandparents on my fathers side were always fussing about some hemlock trees beside thier house. My grandfather wanted them cut and my grandmother steadfast refused to hear of it. Well my grandfather died last year. The evening of his funeral all of the family was gathered at grandma's house. It was kind of cloudy but it was not raining or even threatning to rain. All of a sudden lightning hit one of those hemlock trees beside grandma's house. The same ones they had fussed about so many times. It broke the top out of one and threw debris over 100 feet in all directions. It also blew every fuse in grandma's house and the transformer box. That was the only lightning that day. We all wondered if grandpa was making a final statement about those hemlocks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif.

Love the thunderstorms as well. Fond memories of sitting in the back screen porch with my parent's in Vermont during summer thunderstorms. I did once see lightning strike an apple tree and split it down the middle.

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PlayboyJoeShmoe said:
The old saying goes "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Are you stronger now Litfuse?

[/ QUOTE ]

PJS- Stronger, no. Smarter, Yes! That example, (and another involving a couple tons of fireworks prepped with electric igniters on a barge) have helped me to get my priorities straight! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Playtime is over when I hear thunder.


Peter

[ QUOTE ]
LitFuse said:
...Playtime is over when I hear thunder.



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/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Brightnorm

Sorry about the mistake! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
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brightnorm said:
I felt, or thought I felt my hair stand up several times and I was sure I was going to be hit. I can't convey the absolute terror I felt as we lay on our bellies and tried to melt into the earth so the lightning couldn't get us
Brightnorm

[/ QUOTE ]
Hello. Just want to point out that when you crouch down into a ball, if lightning strikes you, it will travel on the surface of your body to reach the ground. Lying flat will encourage the lightning to travel through your body (and through your heart) to reach the ground if you're unlucky enough to get hit. Also, if it strikes near you, it may still travel thourgh your body as it dissipates. You should cover your ears too so they wouldn't go POP!
By the way, I am usually eager to see lightning for the great photo oppertunities. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I thought the proper thing to do if you feel your hair standing on end is to crouch down, but not actually sit on the ground. Then put your hands over your head and touch your elbows to your knees. Thus hoping that any current will flow through your arms and down your legs into the ground rather than through your head and heart.

I don't honestly know if that would make any difference at the amount of power involved, but if you find yourself in that situation it's worth a try.

By far better is to keep an eye out for whats happening around you and get to a safer area BEFORE the lightening starts striking.

Even thats not a guarantee of safety though, people are struck every year when there are no storms around. A "bolt from the blue" if you will /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think I'll put some lightening rods up on the roof.... (and channel them into the secret lab in the basement where I'm stitching together various body parts even as we speak /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Most of you seem to feel quite comfortable around lightning, but I simply don't, though I can enjoy it if I'm not in the target zone.

I found some info about safety and it confirms the crouch position:

LIGHTNING SAFETY TUTORIAL


Brightnorm

http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/1069.html
Here is much shorter article that seems to confirm what your article says brightnorm.

I watched a show on the TV (where I get most of my scientific information) and one of the things they covered was a park ranger who had been hit 7 times! no lie! Lightning, though it does kill is very often not fatal even when it does strike -- just food for thought. But I will say I met a gal whos uncle wha hit and killed by lightning when he was out doing chores -- he was 102. So I guess if you are around long enough...

My first experiences with lighting were when I moved from Oregon to northern Lousiana.

Before living in Lousiana, lightning was an asbtract concept - during "thunderstorms" in Oregon, the sky would flash dimly and sometimes there was a slight rumbling.

In Lousiana... intense, violent, enescapably loud storms were a regular feature of summer afternoons. It was not uncommon for lightning bolts to light up the sky at roughly 2-4x daylight brightness for up to a second. Power outages were a bi-weekly experience. I seem to recall that all the trees there were of uniform height - any tree notably taller than the others around it tended to get zapped.

Three summers ago I was on the beach with my wife, daughter, and dog. It was quite humid and thunder rumbled in the far distance. As we walked I kept brushing something from my face, I thought maybe spider filaments were blowing in the wind. After doing this for several minutes I turned around to mention this tickling sensation to the girls. I took one look at them and hollered to run for the sand dunes and head back to the car. Their long hair was lifted up toward the sky from static electricity! The storm never materialized but that was too close for me.

I didn't realize that those electrical effects were possible unless you were in the middle of a storm and about to be struck.

Brightnorm

There's a strong thunderstorm going on ourside right now, the first real storm of the season. I enjoy watching thunderstorms - always have. The display of power, the pyrotechnics suddenly transforming the night sky into day, the crisp, clean air and the sense of renewal afterwards.

Having said that, I'm also reasonably careful during storms. I stay away from the phone, the shower, and anyplace outdoors in the open. I've never had the experience of having my hair stand up from the charge column rising, and I hope that I never do! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif