Lightning! Who hates/loves and how many have been struck?

pounder

pounder

Active Member
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142
Me I have that crazy hot girlfriend attitude towards this bolt… it’s like ya they are cool and fun and exciting.. but they are crazy and can strike anytime you think **** is going great. Depending on the mountains and location I do tend to let my guard down.
 
I hate it and have had a few close calls. Like trees being hit a few hundred feet away. Definitely less than a hundred yards. That's too close for my comfort zone. I once was working on a new construction house that got hit and it traveled down the furnace flue and once it hit the wood in between floors, it flashed across the floor. I was on a fiberglass ladder about 10 feet from that flue. The noise was deafening!
 
That stuff scares the hell out of me. I was once packing 20 foot rebar across my shoulders and noticed what felt like multiple pokes from a needle just under that little steel button on my ball cap. I dropped that rebar and ran my guts out. That strike hit a couple hundred feet from me but I swear to this day, I was the intended target.
 
I’ve been within a hundred yards from strikes a few times and I still love it.
Had one real close at Lake Powell in a Hell of a storm.
I guess if that’s the way I’m going to go so be it!
Guess I might go out with a Big Bang. Oh well!
 
I hate lightning…..too many nights in the sheep peaks.

I know 3 people who have been hit, including a welder I worked for. We rolled up the cords at the sound of thunder and went to the bar. Every time.

My closest call was having the house hit while wifey and I were sitting on the porch. For a split second big long arcs started coming off of everything- rain gutters, posts, and the dog. :oops:

Then BOOM, and it was all over. The dog had a little static for a couple of hours and of course it blew up half the appliances.

BTW, it’s popping pretty good right now.
 
Had a good friend killed instantly at scout camp the summer of 1988 at Camp Lassen near Chico, CA. Hit him in the chest and came out his ankle. I'll never forget the scoutmasters trying to do CPR on his burnt chest.

Even with such a horrible experience, I still can't say I hate it. Its just too beautiful and powerful to hate. I will say that I respect it and try to take necessary precautions. One of my favorite things to do is watch storms come across Pyramid Lake near my home.--SS
 
We don't get much lightning here.....about 10 years ago we had a barn burner....saw a HUGE flash 1/2 mile west across the fields from my house...next morning found out is was my neighbor that grounded it out......15 feet from his back porch....same as SS...I still love it but that certainly stays in my mind....
 
Only one time I was afraid. It was in 1998, I was working on the trail crew in a wilderness area on the AZ, NM border. It was late June and we would have thunderstorms every day in the afternoon. Most of the time it was kind of cool and uneventful, close, but not too close. One time it hit right TF over us and lasted a good 15-20 minutes. It was so scary I thought for sure I was going to be hit. If not me, someone in our group. We made it back to camp and went out the next day to exploded trees all over our trail and within a few hundred feet of where we were. It’s a miracle none of the 6 of us got hit by lightning or debris.
 
My mom got struck through the telephone when I was a kid. One of the old school rotoray phones with the long cord. Knocked her clear across the kitchen. I was in the living room and seen the flash. The bolt had hit one of the power lines a couple hundred yards from the house.

Have had multiple super close strikes as well. One on a scout camp hit the tree 15 feet from our tent, and right above the tent of some other guys.

I used to do land surveying, had a couple times the radio antenna on the gps unit started to make a popping sound. ? through that b!tch to the ground and get away. Ditched the 7' fiberglass rod as well lol. Another crew had the base station get hit. We respected that sh!t and shut everything down anytime it got very close.
 
pounder said:
Me I have that crazy hot girlfriend attitude towards this bolt… it’s like ya they are cool and fun and exciting.. but they are crazy and can strike anytime you think **** is going great. Depending on the mountains and location I do tend to let my guard down.
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Lost a hunting buddy to it. I take weather in the high counrty very seriously.
 
I love a good thunderstorm! As kids we lived on a creek bottom and loved when it flooded. We got to see all kinds of things (beavers, snapping turtles, fish, etc) . My sister and I were watching from on top of a haystack when our hair began to stand up like when you put your hand on a static electricity ball. It never hit us, but Dad (an electrical engineer in his prior life) lit us up when we told the story, lol.

I had a framing job in college. We were chalking out the second floor when both of us on the line felt a tingle, but it never struck nearby. We headed for the bar anyway. I have often wondered if we had been using red (iron based?) vs blue chalk, I might not be here.
 
Haven't been hit.

But hunting ducks out by GSL, we will get those wicked storms come off the lake. Scary as hell being in the swamp with lightening flying
 
Buddy and I were backpacking Blue Range Primitive area. Set up tent and went for a long ass hike. T-storm comes rolling in just as we were making it back to camp. Started booming and pouring, we got in tent to stay dry. Then... BOOM/FLASH! Storm started to slow, and we saw a glow from the back of the tent.

We spent the afternoon warming our hands on the big tree that was blown to pieces 50 feet behind the tent- with a 20ft section burning for several hours.
 
HikeHunt61 said:
Buddy and I were backpacking Blue Range Primitive area. Set up tent and went for a long ass hike. T-storm comes rolling in just as we were making it back to camp. Started booming and pouring, we got in tent to stay dry. Then... BOOM/FLASH! Storm started to slow, and we saw a glow from the back of the tent.

We spent the afternoon warming our hands on the big tree that was blown to pieces 50 feet behind the tent- with a 20ft section burning for several hours.
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That’s where I was. Right around Maple Peak and Snare Canyon.
 
When I was a forest fire fighter, they needed someone to volunteer to man the lookout tower for a couple weeks while the regular guy took time off for personal reasons. I thought it would be fun so I raised my hand. One night a thunderstorm rolled in and about 2am lightning hit the tower. BOOOOM!!! Scared me to death. I could smell it and thought there must be fire somewhere. After I couldn't find anything burning, I got on the radio and told them I was going to get down and hide in the woods until the lightning stopped. They told me "negative". Stay in the tower because it had a lightning rod and that was the safest place to be. They got a good laugh.

Come to find out I was supposed to count the number of lightning strikes I could see and report that number the next morning when I gave a weather report. We gave a weather report 3 times a day.
 
When I was 14 years old in 1991 my two friends were hit and killed by lightning 10 feet from me in the Uintah mountains. I was sitting in the ground when it hit. My butt and the bottoms of both feet felt like someone smacked me as hard as they could with a boat paddle. I did CPR on them for 45 minutes with no response. I think about that day every day of my life. If I’m in the high country and the lightning starts so does the panic for me.
 
Sparks Shooter said:
Had a good friend killed instantly at scout camp the summer of 1988 at Camp Lassen near Chico, CA. Hit him in the chest and came out his ankle. I'll never forget the scoutmasters trying to do CPR on his burnt chest.

Even with such a horrible experience, I still can't say I hate it. Its just too beautiful and powerful to hate. I will say that I respect it and try to take necessary precautions. One of my favorite things to do is watch storms come across Pyramid Lake near my home.--SS
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Are you from that area? My brother-in-law is from Orland.
 
Love it but it's damn scary. I've been within feet of a strike and within yards a few other times.
 
Sailing from Fiji to Australia 4 years ago we had a severe lightning storm come over us

, it’s scary having a aluminum mast that is the highest metal object for miles around. Another crewman caught some video of the intense, close spaced strikes.
 
pounder said:
Me I have that crazy hot girlfriend attitude towards this bolt… it’s like ya they are cool and fun and exciting.. but they are crazy and can strike anytime you think **** is going great. Depending on the mountains and location I do tend to let my guard down.
Click to expand...
I believe it was Lee Trevino that has been hit twice by lighting. He said later that if lighting comes he runs for the clubhouse holding a #2 iron over his head. When asked why he said not even God can hit a #2 iron. LOL
 
Used to bow hunt with our camp set above 10,000 feet. Freaky when the lighting and thunder occur at the exact same time. I remember once I ran from the wall tent with aluminum poles and buried my self in the dirt in a small patch of trees nearby.
 
I was on the front porch watching a storm when I was about 30 years old. A strike hit within feet of me and I didn't get any of it. I still love watching lightning but not outside. Watch the first couple seconds of this video and see Dixie's hair . It happened several times as She was on the San Juan Mountains stretch of the CDT. She always hurries off when it looks bad and finds a spot to shelter if possible but She is lucky. Dixie has done the AT , PCT and CDT which is called the Triple Crown. I watch her videos as She will tell you anything you want to know about Backpacking.
 
For those of us who camp/hunt out of a wall tent with a metal frame, would it be advisable to install a sturdy grounding cable and rod to carry the current away in case of a strike? Insulating the frame would probably be more effective but rather difficult.
 
I've been knocked to the ground by a lightning strike about 20' from me. The blast showered me with wood shards and branches. It caused a concussion like feeling in my head, and caused most of my muscles to cramp up all at once. I've always wondered if it was from a little electricity going though me. I have a picture of the tree it hit, but not digital. The tree exploded.

My brother was in his tree stand when a thunderstorm rolled through. He smelled ozone in the air, which is usually a sign lightning is about to strike. Then he felt a buzz on the back of his neck. He thought he was a dead man. The buzz and vibrations got worse and wouldn't stop for several minutes, and he started to freak out. Lightning struck a few hundred yards away and that was it. He was getting out of there. He started to un-buckle, and a big old bumble bee that was caught under his hood flew out, and the buzz was gone. Funny campfire story.
 
Come close too many times…. One I hadn’t thought of in a long time was at Lake Powell, on a party house boat that belonged to an old friend. It was a well made custom built thing. At had bedrooms on the bottom floor but when a bunch of us went together, a lot of us just rolled out our bedrolls on the top. 6 or 8 of us were asleep up there one night and something woke me up about 2:00 A.M. and as I raised up to look around I notice all of the lights, mounted on the perimeter of the roof were glowing bright as he!!. About that time so did the sky. We never took a direct hit, but there was a bunch of scared folk thereabouts for a half hour or so.

More than a couple have been killed on our lakes around here, over the years………. fishing in lightning storms.
 
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I too love a good T-storm.

In the early 80s, I was snow skiing in southern CO. The wind picked up, enough so that my favorite run was closed.

One last run, and I walked to the truck. I put the skiis in a rack on the passenger side, took my ski boots off and got in to drive home.

Just as I turned the key, I heard a loud crack/boom and felt a tingle. I got out to see if the truck was damaged. About 6" of the radio antenna was gone, about 3 feet from where I was standing just moments prior.
 
JakeH said:
My mom got struck through the telephone when I was a kid. One of the old school rotoray phones with the long cord. Knocked her clear across the kitchen. I was in the living room and seen the flash. The bolt had hit one of the power lines a couple hundred yards from the house.

Have had multiple super close strikes as well. One on a scout camp hit the tree 15 feet from our tent, and right above the tent of some other guys.

I used to do land surveying, had a couple times the radio antenna on the gps unit started to make a popping sound. ? through that b!tch to the ground and get away. Ditched the 7' fiberglass rod as well lol. Another crew had the base station get hit. We respected that sh!t and shut everything down anytime it got very close.
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Mine also got hit talking on the phone, huge weather system, hail , tornado , lightning
she called me and says the tornado was tearing down the church next door, next thing I know a police officer is beating on the doo and says “ your mom has been Elecracuted
“ she was slightly hurt just more upset . Weird night

we had a farm hand get killed while shoveling rice on top of a auger wagon , give him CPR but he didnt make it, that lightning strike was like having a bomb explosion at your feet
 
S-3 Ranch said:
Mine also got hit talking on the phone, huge weather system, hail , tornado , lightning
she called me and says the tornado was tearing down the church next door, next thing I know a police officer is beating on the doo and says “ your mom has been Elecracuted
“ she was slightly hurt just more upset . Weird night

we had a farm hand get killed while shoveling rice on top of a auger wagon , give him CPR but he didnt make it, that lightning strike was like having a bomb explosion at your feet
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I didnt have to worry about that since my house didnt have a phone until I joined the Navy.

One of the guys working for me got hit twice while using a phone booth outside the barracks in Florida. He was talking to his GF at the time.
 
Not very fond of lightning in the mountains. Amazing to watch! And I respect it. But don’t care to see it while I am in the hills.

Was working on the drive station to Strawberry Gondola at Snowbasin Ski Resort 20 years ago. Standing underneath break over towers at top of mountain watching lightning strike BELOW us in the Morgan valley. Two Coworkers run up on the hoggs back, second highest point in that area besides the break over towers. Lightning strikes the tower above us, arcs over to the hoggs back and hits my two coworkers, knocking them down the hill. They survived. But we sent them to doc to get looked at as their muscles were all tensed up and soar. The one guys button on top of hat had melted material around it and the other guy had a nasty bruise on his leg where we think lightning traveled through.
 
My worst experience was while hunting elk. I was walking back side of pine tree mtn. When the black death cloud rolled over the top with no warning. A few arcs across the sky told me what my next move would be. I set my 300 RUM lightning rod against a tree and walked a couple yards away and sat on a log. Not too long after that, I feel like I am getting pricked by 1,000 needles. Before I could even think about what was happening, I hear a loud whistle followed by a BOOM!

Next thing I know, I am curled up in fetal position under the log I was sitting on…I’m not for certain but I may have been sucking my thumb crying for mommy to help me.

I laid there for ten min or so before I dared move. When I got up, I looked around only to see an exploded tree about 20 yards from where my gun was.

I got out of there for the day as I was a bit shook up from that ordeal. Came back next day and took a few pics.

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had a nephew die a couple years ago rock climbing in Puerto Rico. Had some scary experiences in the backcountry. not as cool as some would think, for me! love watching a huge storm from far away
 
The neighbors house right across the street got hit. I was inside my home and seen the flash with a deafening boom at the same instance. The neighbors were home and mighty shaken but not harmed. Their appliances, t.v. and most of their electronic items unfortunately got fried.
 
Summer of 1983, 16 years old, working at the rifle range of BSA Camp Old Indian. Tin roof building. Storm approaching. We were closing up to get out of there. I was leaning against the door frame which had a padlock bracket. Lightning struck a tree at the end of the building and proceeded through the bracket, knocking me down. Let's just say that's when I realized light travels faster than sound! I saw the flash felt it, but never heard the boom!!
 
I've had a lot of close calls. Bass fishing in lake Toho in Florida we had a cell pop in. Lightning hitting the lake 50' or less from us. We ran from it in the boat and I swear it chased us all the way across the lake trying to hit us.

California in X1 one year a lightning storm came in while deer hunting. Strikes all around me close enough to set my rife away from me until it passed.

Utah, Wasatch front. While deer hunting me and my kid had a strike so close we both thought the other got hit. That was a long week of lightning every day. Had no choice but to either hunt in it or not hunt. We hunted thinking one of us was going to get hit eventually.

Still not scared of it. Is what it is.
 
Packing out my Dad's bull elk this year in WY had a storm blow in on us. Crossing a sage flat a big fat bolt of lightning hit about 50 yards from us right in the direction we needed to go. I **** my pants, and we ended up 2 draws over as we veered away from the bolt. That night another storm blew in and a bolt felt like it damn near hit our tent.....crack BOOM!!! Again a new pair of shorts after I roostered in them. I don't love lightening.
 
I always like watching lightning when I’m driving, but laying in a tent with an 8 foot metal center support pole on the South Dakota prairie where the tallest thing for miles around is a fence post as lightning flashed and thunder boomed constantly for about an hour had me questioning life choices
 

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