A bit off topic, but I wanted to share with you a true story of my house getting hit by lightning this past weekend.
Had just finished watching the major league debut of Bryce Harper with the Washington Nationals against the LA Dodgers - they lost 4-3. I went outside to look at the sky as I always do every night before I retire and noticed there was some lightning in the distance, so I watched the display for a bit.
I went inside and got ready to turn in and left open a drape so I could look out and watch the display. At a little after 1 a.m., there was a red colored sphere of light that appeared through the window with a incredibly loud explosion. Well, all I could think of was that it was a lightning display that was literally right on top of me. About 60 seconds later there was a bolt of lighting that was so bright it stayed in my retina for about a minute - followed by a tremendous "boom" that was almost instantaneous to the lightning - so I knew it had to be very, very close. The whole house shook.
Well, needless to say, I was quite taken aback from this "up close and personal" interaction with such a force of nature. I had to reset a few electrical circuits that had popped but I thought nothing more of the event until daybreak.
When I awoke to the sound of what I thought was a noisy newspaper delivery vehicle - more on that later - I just turned over as it was about 5:30 a.m. Upon rising for the day I went out onto my deck and there to greet me was a piece of roofing shingle. In looking up at my roof there was torn aluminum sheeting and more blasted shingles. Further examination revealed no telephone and the irrigation controls were literally fried.
My neighbor across the street had his smoke alarm go off and three fire trucks roll in on what turned out to be a smoky insulation fire - a very small one but smoky caused by electrical discharge from either water or gas lines.....caused by electricity coming into his basement utility room....probably from our two lightning strikes.
There were other stories to be heard, corroboration of the facts witnessed and seen in the torn metal and blasted shingles. I found out today if I have a hole in my roof and begin the process of insurance claims and the various repairs needed.
Bottom line is that lightning is a powerful force of nature and a deadly one at that. I was less than 20 feet from the point of impact and it was literally right over my head. It could have been so much worse - a fire, a blast that penetrated through to my bedroom ceiling.....my neighbor's fire could have been worse and my neighbor that happened to be pulling down her bedroom shade at the instant of the strike could have hurt herself as she fell back in fear from she saw and witnessed in that instant of raw, unbridled power.
If you see lightning getting close, GET SHELTER. Read More ABout Lightning Safety Tips here: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/
Sky Guy in VA
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