Lightening

[Youare]

I live in southern New Hampshire and in the summer we can get some pretty intense thunder storms. One summer back a few years we got one of those storms while the wife and I we out of town. The night before we left I had been putting some wood in the woodshed which was about 20 feet from the house. The woodshed had a metal roof. I had hung a drop light from a nail in one of the rafters which was plugged into a weather tight outlet box on the side of the house.

When we left I unplugged the light. Just 10 feet from the wood shed was a big old pine tree, the base measured 52" across. Upon returning home late the next evening I saw a huge tangle of pine limbs along the back side of the house. Lighting had struck the pine tree exploding the tree about 30 feet off the ground. The top of the treee was hurled toward the roof of the house, one of the branches hit the chimeny and a few shingles were torn. The top of the tree some 40 feet long lay along side the house with the tip touching the base of the tree.

The intresting things is the lighting craved a path down the tree trunk to the height of the woodshed roof. The drop light, still hanging in place had it's blub blown to pieces. One of the two wires in the cord was blown out in at least a dozen places. The plug at the end of the cord was blown somewhere. It had been laying close to a corner of the block foundation of the house, which was now missing a chunk 8" high by 3" or 4" deep. That's all the damage there was.

I was thankful the light was unplugged from the outlet, and that I was not home when it happened.

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Bird,

Oh yes, we have the pleasure of reading our own meters too. We even get to pay more for it. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif.

Around here they get a little upset when you cut that seal. Usually when I've needed something done, I've just called the power company and had them come pull their meter. Of course, that leaves me running on the generator for a couple of days. But, I figure they don't charge for it and I don't have to worry about the tag. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. They've actually been pretty good about pulling and re-connecting, they've been right on time or ahead of time. Actually disconnected before I was quite ready last time.

SHF

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Re: Lightning

ErnieB

I think I may have seen the ball type. I was just a boy, 13 or 14. I can remember this bright blob shooting through the house. Out of the kitchen, through the dining room into the living room and smack into the TV. Happened real fast, and I'm still not sure what it was.

SHF

 

[Bird]

Re: Lightning

We had a little bit of thunder and lightning during the night last night; sure wish there'd been some rain with it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[patrickg]

Youare, I don't know... If yo could have known in advance the extent of the damage, it would have been interesting to have watched from a safe distance. That being impossible (OK for the scifi types - - UNLIKELY) you had the best outcome possible in the circumstances, no one hurt and minimal damage to stuff. What a story!

Patrick

 

[PBMAX]

patric,I suppose the ROPS might take the initail hit but, I wouldn't count on the tractor to take even the slightest off a hit.Even if it's just the static discharge.Think about it this way.If you are in an auto and it gets popped.In theory the body of it conducts the electricity around you and bleads it off to the ground etc.You mean while atleast have the car seat and other non condictive materials to help shield you some what from the medal body.(Still no garentee there)While on your tractor all you have is your comfie seat and a pad under your feet.Now how much painted metal are your sitting next to? remeber how we have mentioned how lightening likes to supprise us with how well and far it can jump...?It comes down to how it makes you feel when you know it's lightening and your odds.I will addmit I don't typically jump off the tractor and go in side(ya I know it's stupid).IF it isn't a close storm. Being on a Mtn I can see them way off. So I've kinda learned to count in the back of my head while working outside.Close by 5mls or less.Gotto pick some #.I head toward the cassa...ALL in ALL it's still a judgement call...What do you feel safe doing...Or at what point do you feel unsafe? ONLY YOU KNOW...I do know you can trust lightening to do what ever,when ever, How ever it wants to....no matter how well we gaurd against it.

Laziness is the Father of invention.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Lil' Paul
Proud owner of TC21D

 

[patrickg]

I hate it when I know better but won't act on my knowledge. Sure, a lightning hit on the tractor can be fatal. Lightning has been known to strike from as far as 10 miles away with no clouds in sight and hit people (documented by lightning researcher). So to be really lightning safe you can't ride a tractor out of doors. Unless you have some sort of ionization detection or Kilivolt meters with remote sensors and alarms. (A team of spotters with radios would be handy.)

OR like Paul and I, just do it but rely on dumb luck to preserve us while we pretend that we will be safe enough if we quit when our pucker factor gets to some subjectivly variable threshold.

As a young lad in Ohio I didn't know any better and used to like to ride my bike in thunderstorms. I thought since there were power and phone lines on poles way above little ole me that it was safe.

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first, then go tractorin'.

Patrick

 

[Anonymous Poster]

When I was a kid my grandmother had ball lightning come in one window of her house and exit out another window. No damage to anything as I recall.

PitbullMidwest

 

[ERNIEB]

Re: Lightning

SHF, Sounds like it was. Here is a site on ball lightning
http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/~bdaye/balligh.html No photos. In fact I can't find any photos of it period, I guess none exists.

Ernie

 

[ERNIEB]

Re: Lightning

Had the same thing here Bird. A few drops fell, but not even enough to settle the dust. I guess some areas did get some rain.

Ernie