Struck by lightning

[50mech]

So two days ago I was struck by lightning while driving my van.

 

Windows down , it just began to rain and about 30 seconds later felt my left arm hair raise and then BAM . It was like a flash bang grenade. I was blinded by light for 3-4 seconds and felt like I was in an oven.. My right arm was burned. Left was steaming where it was wet from rain. Next day had a severe case of welders flash and very sore muscles and joints from one arm through the other and across my back and shoulders.

 

I found arc burns on my left rear rim and tire.

 

Still suffering a bit of flash and headaches.

 

My only regret is I wasn't doing 88mph at the time, I would have liked going back to November 5 1955.

[Plymouthy Adams]

shazam....that is a freak occurance....I hope to never top you with this one...glad  you ok.....for real, did you make a run to the ER/doctor

[50mech]

Thanks! But no, it didn't seem like much happened until the next day. Even then, welders flash and sore muscles I figured they would just do as I would. " Here's an aspirin, drink water" 

The whole thing was confusing and I don't think I got a whole lot of it. Nearest I can guess it hit really close, traveled some path that included the van, my ladder and me.

[tom'sB2B]

Glad you're ok. Now you got a hell of a story you can tell.

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

big bear.....big...big big big

[MackTheFinger]

You should have superpowers after that.. ELECTRO-MAN!!

[DJ194950]

Maybe you are now a savant and it should show up soon?  ?

 

Look out Elon Musks of the world!  ?

 

DJ

[50mech]

Hah, i think the super power I got was forgetting everything I hear. Had a bit of trouble with anything not visual the past few days.

 

A friend mentioned super powers. I said I already had them, how do you think I walked away? Lol

[Dodgeed]

HOLY COW! St. Christopher was watching over you that day. ?

[hi_volt]

Ouch!  Consider yourself lucky.  I design high voltage electrical systems for a living (hence my username) and have been bit by current limited high voltage systems on multiple occasions.  It's no picnic.

[Sniper]

6 hours ago, hi_volt said:

Ouch!  Consider yourself lucky.  I design high voltage electrical systems for a living (hence my username) and have been bit by current limited high voltage systems on multiple occasions.  It's no picnic.

 

 

Just grab a plug wire while the engine is running is anyone wants a taste, lol.

[DJ194950]

My dad told me a story years ago about a guy that he worked with that would go out to bars after work and dare anyone to kill a running 6 cylinder flathead motor that had the old style bare metal spark plug ends on them. Said that he would kill the running motor by laying his bare arm on top of the sparkplugs until the motor died.

 

Take bets that he would do it. Added he would also stand in a metal bucket full of water at the same time. Take on any challengers for money of course, the more the better!

 

After a while the drinkers would get higher as he wound them up about it. When he thought he had all the suckers he could get, he would head outside to his car with to the  motor and bucket, gallons of water in the trunk. First come first big bettors. Many would not even try it themselves but he offered to  let the up their bets and he would pay them double back if he did not do it. . Few tough one gave their tries but No one completed the task. Money in pockets.

 

More bets that he would kill the motor.

 

Did it always - - while drinking his beer with the the other arm!

 

Did he lean on the car body or not? Get the full voltage? Or just short out the spark between various sparkplugs and not to ground that may have been lower volts? Did the bucket of water make any difference?  Hidden kill button??

 

Just remembered this today. What day of the week is this? Lets think- yesterday what was on TV and what comes on that day only?  ? Oh ya, look at the computer, tells day/date and time!

 

DJ

[JBNeal]

I have been in close proximity to 3 lightning strikes during severe thunderstorms, once in a hilltop metal barn and twice inside my hillside house...each time, a split second before the lightning flash, I felt as if every hair on my body was standing up, and I mean EVERY hair, even the little ones in my ears...and as quickly as they stood up, they relaxed after the lightning bolt dissipated...no injuries after each incident but dadgum do I get back spasms when the severe weather starts rolling through as well as the back of my head through the back of my neck get hot, and that dissipates as quickly as the rough stuff moves out...I talked to a MD about this years ago and got the "take an Aleve" prescription, which sorta helps...so it's fun being the local barometer for the neighbors

[Dan Hiebert]

Glad you're OK.  My wife was hit by lightning umpiring a softball game in El Paso once, I'd say she hasn't been right since, but she's always been a half bubble off plumb.  Didn't get any worse, anyway.  Same prescription, no burns or anything that needed patching, defibrillating, restart, etc., so the ER Doc just said to take Tylenol.  She's a good barometer now, too.  She's also the reason Texas schools won't do sports outside if there's lightning within five miles of the venue.  I've been close to a lot of lightning strikes, never been hit, though.  I was in the original USBP station at Ft. Hancock, TX  when lightning hit the radio antenna during an "Old Testament" level thunderstorm.  What a noise!  And it fried every piece of electrical equipment in the building, came out of the radio base unit and punched a hole in the tile floor.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Dan Hiebert

[RobertKB]

12 hours ago, Dan Hiebert said:

My wife was hit by lightning umpiring a softball game in El Paso once.

 

I assume she was calling strikes at the time she was struck!?

 

Glad she was OK!

Edited July 28, 2020 by RobertKB

[Plymouthy Adams]

good thing she was not hit three times.....!!!!!!!!!!!

[RobertKB]

4 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

good thing she was not hit three times.....!!!!!!!!!!!

So true.............three strikes and you’re out!⚾️⚾️⚾️

[lonejacklarry]

 

[DJ194950]

Just checking the weather this morning and on the Weather Channel and they mentioned that 11? people this year have died from lightening strikes in this US.

 

Just yesterday a man in No. Cal. was killed on his jet ski out on the lake as he had just got to the shoreline with his son on the back. Son is in the hospital at this time.

Also mentioned that 6 people have died from strikes on jet-skis this year.

 

State with most deaths from strikes so far, Pennsylvania.

 

See thunderstorms in the area? Get the "H" inside shelter, not under trees!

[Ulu]

Somehow I missed this thread entirely but I have to tell you that I have been in a lightning storm at 10,000 feet elevation going over Yosemite into Nevada.

 

I was riding my motorcycle and it was starting to rain hard. I was almost over the crest and it just turned into a deluge. Lightning was striking on the granite peaks above.
 

My glasses face shield and windshield were fogging up badly, and I was following a very slow minivan through the two inches of standing water, which filled the road.
 

I was sincerely worried about a lightning strike and as I rode slowly, I saw several other motorcyclists who had pulled over and were huddling underneath the worlds tallest Pine trees.

 

Well that did look somewhat more comfortable than following a minivan through a rainstorm, but I always heard that you should never stand under a tree during a lightning storm.
 

Meanwhile lightning is striking the granite peaks again and I’m trying to decide what to do. Quickly I decided that if I was going to be fried by a lightning bolt that I would rather die riding my motorcycle than hiding under a tree.

 

I finally just rode it out until the rain stopped, and I arrived at Topaz lake a couple hours later, soaked but unhurt.