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blackrams
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APR 15, 07:44 AM
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Just for fun, ever since I learned how to do it, I have always tried to estimate the distance of lightning from my location. So, I pay attention when I see lightning and start counting the seconds to determine that distance. Just a mental game I play.
Have had quite a few thunder storms rolling through this Spring, so I've had a few interesting lightning storms to observe. Tonight, my house shook and brought me out of a dead sleep. The thunder and lightning was intense. Even the dogs were scared. Actually, I thought it was a pretty cool demonstration of Mother Nature's power.
Looking out to the back yard onto the neighbor's property a bit later, I realized why that massive sound woke me up. One of my neighbor's trees was smoldering and there wasn't much left of it. Additional and continuing lightning is what allowed me to see that tree. The tree will not survive and I got a good reminder of how powerful lightning can be. Will get my chainsaw and tractor out and help him when it quits raining.
I have been in aircraft before that were struck by lightning, a couple of times while in flight and once while the UH1 was sitting on the ground. Interesting experiences.
| quote | This technique is called the "flash-to-bang" method, and it can keep you safe during rainy summer weather. The National Weather Service recommends taking cover if the time between the lightning flash and the rumble of thunder is 30 seconds or less, which indicates the lightning is about 6 miles away or closer.
This method is based on the fact that light travels much faster than sound through the atmosphere: Light travels at 186,291 miles per second (299,800 km/s), whereas the speed of sound is only about 1,088 feet per second (332 meters per second), depending on air temperature.
For metric-system conversions, follow this method: Sound travels at about 340 m/s, so multiply the number of seconds you counted by 340, and you'll know how many meters away lightning struck. A three-second count, then, would place the lightning strike about 1,020 m away, or roughly 1 km. |
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Rams
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2.5
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APR 15, 03:17 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by blackrams:
I have been in aircraft before that were struck by lightning, a couple of times while in flight and once while the UH1 was sitting on the ground. Interesting experiences.
Rams |
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What happens during those instances?[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 04-15-2021).]
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blackrams
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APR 15, 03:48 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by 2.5:
What happens during those instances?
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Well, normally the crew chief needs to change his underwear............ 
If you mean what happens to the inflight aircraft, no damage in either instance.
But with the grounded UH1, the rotor system (blades) had to be replaced along with the skids.
In neither situation was a crew member hurt. We weren't grounded.
Rams[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 04-15-2021).]
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TheDigitalAlchemist
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APR 15, 05:24 PM
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Reminds me of that scene from poltergeist...
Life is more exciting when lightning is around...
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Jake_Dragon
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APR 15, 07:17 PM
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Spent over 30 years living in the Florida, lightning capital of the world.
Its funny they had an airbag manufacturing plant just down the road from us.
They would close up and send everyone home if they got even the hint of rain.
After the third explosion they closed the place. lightning is kind of a big deal when static can blow up your work place.
It also didn't help decapitating kids in booster seats.
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OldsFiero
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APR 15, 07:50 PM
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One time when my wife and traveled, I watched a bad storm in the mid west from above the clouds. I told her that if aliens came here and saw that, they would say move on nothing could live here.
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theogre
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APR 15, 07:53 PM
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I had 2 "struck" my house many years ago...
One we think hit the house and/or well 2 feet from the house. Fried phones, deep well water pump, and few other things.
Other hit a tree ~ 20 feet away and piece of same hit the house.
Again years later hit a tree a few yards away when parked my car in a park during a storm. Rain was too hard to get out or see to drive.
You may think flash and huge boom is instant... Nope.
Flash and Huge Zapp sound Hundreds x louder then shorted out 120 or 240vac then Short Fast Boom if any.
Why? You too close, IE @ Ground Zero, to have the big shockwave that makes the boom.
If you been near 13,500vac or higher shorting out like tree falling or Squirrel kill themselves on High Tension wires... That zapp sound is close to noise level. But this might sound more like a big welder because because many breakers/fuses won't blow right away.
I have seen this happen several times before Asplundh and other tree trimmers chopped out a lot of trees here in Power Co right of ways.------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)
The Ogre's Fiero Cave
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blackrams
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APR 15, 09:56 PM
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Yeah, back when land lines were the norm, I was sitting in the living room next to the phone watching TV and lightning hit the aluminum land line box on the outside wall. The bang was enormous, the phone actually jumped off the chair side table beside me. Scared the hell out of this 10 year old.
Never been the same since. Land Lines scare me.
Rams
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cliffw
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APR 16, 07:52 AM
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I was on I-20, heading East, to Dallas from Midland, TX. The Wife called. As we were talking, I hear an Earth shattering BOOM. Followed closely by an Earth shattering scream from the wife.
Lightning hit one of our trees, 10' from the house.
When I got home days later, there was a one inch wide strip of tree bark peeled from the top to bottom of a 30' tree.
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blackrams
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APR 16, 01:11 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by cliffw:
I was on I-20, heading East, to Dallas from Midland, TX. The Wife called. As we were talking, I hear an Earth shattering BOOM. Followed closely by an Earth shattering scream from the wife.
Lightning hit one of our trees, 10' from the house.
When I got home days later, there was a one inch wide strip of tree bark peeled from the top to bottom of a 30' tree. |
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Dang!!
Two things came to mind:
First, what did you do to make you wife that mad and second, I had no idea she could do that!!!
Rams
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