Might be going offline for awhile tonight (weather)

Just a heads-up for "y-all"...thunderstorms are expected in this area this evening. I don't know the average severity, frequency, or seasonality of thunderstorms in Sacramento CA. USA, so better safe than sorry...if I hear thunder, I'll be unplugging my equipment.

In my former home of Seattle WA. USA, thunderstorms are relatively uncommon, are usually of low severity (note I said "USUALLY" here!), and could occur at any time of the year. I almost got struck by lightning in the summer sometime in 1997 or 1998 up there in Seattle. I was on Capitol Hill at the time (just east of downtown) near the former Elite II tavern about two blocks west of Broadway. I heard this crackling sound for a couple of seconds, then the lightning bolt came down just behind the 1-story building I was in front of; there was no discernable delay between the light and the sound, so I know it was very, very close. Since I was in my electric wheelchair, the rubber tires (or tyres) provided enough insulation between me and the sidewalk, so I didn't get zapped. I quickly ducked into a nearby bar to wait the rest of the electrical storm out.

During winter time in the Sacramento (area) it's common to have thunderstorms, and lightning now and then (not much in city). But it's pretty rare that anything major happens around here other than flooding. You'll be fine

Take care.

Thunderstorms in December? Wow. I enjoy thunderstorms (although my computers don't) but they're pretty rare in my neck of the woods at this time of the year. Good luck and I hope that nothing gets zapped.

heeeere they come ... I watched the clouds coming in over the ocean... I'm somewhat disappointed with the lack of thunder or lightening.. I'd say the rain is at this time is light to medium..

Speaking of tires insulating you from the ground, how can cars use their bodies as "ground" in electric circuits in the car? The car is insulated from the ground, where do the electricity go?

In the case of automotive electrical systems using the car's body as "ground", it simply means the negative (-) terminal of the battery is connected to the chassis; the word "ground" is only used to indicate the car body is a common negative (-), it really does not literally mean "ground".

From the weather page on a TV station here in Sacramento, comes the following advisory:

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Light to moderate rain continues to fall in valley and Delta tonight. The area of precipitation is located from Red Bluff to Turlock...and from Vallejo to Loomis. Rainfall rates the last six hours have ranged from 0.10 inches in Lodi to around 0.59 inches at the Sacramento International Airport. Rain will continue through 1 am...and will be heavy at times. Nuisance flooding will occur in low lying areas. Motorist should stay alert for ponding of water on roadways.
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That's the first time I've heard the term "nuisance flooding." I hope it's nothing more than that.

First, for a car, it is not the tires that insulate you... If a lighting bolt can travel a mile or more through the air, another 1/2 dozen inches is not going to make any difference at all.

The - (negative ground) for a car is just a convention... Prior to the 1960's, it was not uncommon to find positive ground cars too (IIRC, for British and other imports, positive earth was pretty common in the older cars). Sometimes you will also hear "earth and earthed" in addition to "ground and grounded".

Lastly, the reason that you are relatively safe in a car during a lighting storm (or if a power line falls on your car) is because the car is "Faraday Cage"... Basically if you are in a metal can, you cannot measure the effects of lighting strikes to the outside of the metal can (assuming that you don't melt/blast a hole in the sheet metal)... A car is not a perfect Faraday Cage, but it is not bad either.

-Bill

It is pouring rain outside and the wind is howelling in Costa Mesa right now! Wish it was safe to park my my truck outside and get it washed! (Would be broken-into/stolen before I get up tomorrow morning! Nice neighborhood!) I bought two $21 wiper assemblys today at Kragen and installed them. I hope it rains tomorrow! (We don't have weather in Socal!)

Larry

tvodrd said:

...Wish it was safe to park my my truck outside and get it washed! (Would be broken-into/stolen before I get up tomorrow morning! Nice neighborhood!)...

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So that's why I can't send packages to your house! I understand now!

I heard that storm - I was watching the first few eps of ST: TOS with a friend, and the rain would get terribly loud every now and again. I'm glad I was inside! :huh:

We have a few inches of 'nuisance snow' here. :thumbsdow

Finally got some rain in my area but we need a whole lot more like the rest of the country.

PhotonWrangler said:

That's the first time I've heard the term "nuisance flooding." I hope it's nothing more than that.

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The term "nuisance flooding" probably refers to yards being flooded, rather than entire homes - so it is a bit of a pain in the toliet muscle but little actual structural or property damage is produced.

BB said:

First, for a car, it is not the tires that insulate you... If a lighting bolt can travel a mile or more through the air, another 1/2 dozen inches is not going to make any difference at all....

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I wasn't referring to being protected from a direct lightning strike here; I was referring to being prevented from getting zapped by the electric current that would be present on the surface of the ground 50' to 100' from the location of the actual strike. The surface of the earth can become electrified near a strike - rubber tires would definitely insulate you from that.

.oops

rain came and went here with nary a flash nor rumble nor puddle

I remember some cars used to drive around with a chain hanging down from underneath scraping along on the road.. do you remember that? Never see it done any more.. I think it had something to do with dissapating static electricity.. I was 9 and thought people who did that were generally wierd..
maybe it would help if the vehicle were actually struck by a bolt?

Sometimes my work brings me into close proximity to radio-tv towers. I have a policy of staying away from them during an electrical storm for that very reason, and I encourage others to do the same. I have no desire to become an unwilling participant in a science experiment.

TedTheLed said:

rain came and went here with nary a flash nor rumble nor puddle

I remember some cars used to drive around with a chain hanging down from underneath scraping along on the road.. do you remember that? Never see it done any more.. I think it had something to do with dissapating static electricity.. I was 9 and thought people who did that were generally wierd..
maybe it would help if the vehicle were actually struck by a bolt?

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This was the purpose for the large trucks that carried gasoline, but for the average car the purpose was a lot more important than dissipating static electricity. The purpose of these grounding chains was to safely guide an electromagnetic pulse into the ground saving the car's electrical system in case of nearby nuclear attack.

TedTheLed said:

I remember some cars used to drive around with a chain hanging down from underneath scraping along on the road.. do you remember that? Never see it done any more.. I think it had something to do with dissapating static electricity.. I was 9 and thought people who did that were generally wierd..

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I remember seeing conductive mudflaps on trucks and even a few cars back then. I always thought it was for dissipating static electricity. It never occurred to me that it could be for dissipating a large EMP event, but then would it actually work for that? It seems to me that a conductive strap would only serve to increase the EMP since it's helping to form a complete circuit to ground, causing more current flow and thus more EMP.