re: Lightning storm story. Tell us about it.

Two come to mind:

One was the closest I've been to a lightning bolt. It hit a lamp at the end of my grandparents driveway. I was close enough where it didn't sound like thunder, just a buzz and a loud pop.

Driving through Iowa at night headed to the 2017 CWS. One of those Great Plains storms where there was no darkness between flashes. Just constant strobing for at least 20 minutes.

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I got struck by heat lighting

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The silent killer

In high school. Was trying to log onto AOL to chat up some babes. Lightning hit the bid house outside 15 feet from me. I could feel it somewhat. It was strange. Birds got roasted.

Another time in a river kayak fishing. Felt lime it was safer to get on shore and put up the tarp. Then lightning hit a tree 200 feet from me. I just stayed put

A couple that I can remember.

Family vacation in the second half of the 80s. We were staying in Port St. Joe and drove out to Cape San Blas and around to St Joseph's Point. Stopped at a gas station on 98 right across the road from the bay as a storm blows in. Huge bolt of lightning hits in the bay. Seagulls are almost immediately on it going after the fish that are stunned/killed.

The house I grew up in was in in town Atlanta, built in the 50s. All utilities were above ground/on poles. The incoming phone line laid across the phone line for the house next door. Had a bolt hit the line just off the pole and followed it to the house. When it got to the point where the two lines crossed it split and followed both into their respective houses. If it hadn't it probably would have caused a fire. As it was, it blew out a couple of wall jacks and melted the service box on the side of the house.

Was fishing on lake Bistineaux in the 80s.

Heard some idiot yelling and when I turned to look, lightning stuck a fool standing in a boat.

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Those of us younger folk that were really being asked to make a long term commitment to the new building were like "The Lord sent us a free church building paid for by the insurance and some nosey arse neighbor called it in"

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Perspective is Everything!

In the 80's on Cross Lake in Shreveport Graves Thomad stood up in a boat raised his arms to the sky and said "Here I am"

He was instantly zapped stone dead.


They just published the anniversary

LINK

Was in a parking lot with a metal umbrella during a lightening storm. Got struck. My friend threw me in the back of the car and drove me to the ER. Had an EKG and EEG. They let me go. I had a seizure a week later. My temperature has been slightly higher than normal ever since but no other lasting effects. I don't use umbrellas anymore

Years ago dad, myself and some other folks climbed a 13,500’ mountain in Colorado.

We were told due to incoming weather if we hadn’t made the top by 1:00pm we should turn around and start back.

Dad legs were playing out fast, but we were only ~ 200 yards from the top so I kept urging him on. We didn’t reach the peak until a little after 2:00pm.

We stayed at the top for about 10 minutes to try and let his legs recover then started back down when the storm blew in. We tried to pick up the pace but were complete enveloped in clouds with zero visibility so we stopped.

It was then that the hairs on my neck and arms started standing up…very weird and I sensed what was coming. As we were above the tree line with no cover we squatted to get as low as possible and separated ourselves from our metal framed packs. Then the lightening and thunder started. Two strikes were very close…almost zero spacing between the flash and bang and we thought we felt the current in our feet. With no visibility I couldn't see how close they were.

It was a long 20 minutes and the storm finally let up with visibility of 50-100yrds, so we started down again and lived to tell the tale. That was the closest I have come to getting struck by lightning.