Lightning blew a chunk of concrete out of my building...
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...during this wild summer storm the other night.
The piece of concrete was on the 29th floor (rooftop) and was about the size of a football. Half of it was left hanging by a shred of paint. The other half can not be found presumed vapourised. Half a dozen security key readers were knocked out (had to be replaced) but no damage to electrical equipment fortunately.
This shot is blurry as I took a slow exposure without using a tripod. The lightning was repeatedly striking the ocean in the one area (obscured by the building in front but you can still get the idea from the intensity of the light). It was truly spectacular.
[Edited by Muz on 01-23-2001 at 01:53 AM]
The piece of concrete was on the 29th floor (rooftop) and was about the size of a football. Half of it was left hanging by a shred of paint. The other half can not be found presumed vapourised. Half a dozen security key readers were knocked out (had to be replaced) but no damage to electrical equipment fortunately.
This shot is blurry as I took a slow exposure without using a tripod. The lightning was repeatedly striking the ocean in the one area (obscured by the building in front but you can still get the idea from the intensity of the light). It was truly spectacular.
[Edited by Muz on 01-23-2001 at 01:53 AM]
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From: Austin
[green]I hate that stuff. Every time it thunderstorms here, I get to look forward to telephone problems. No matter how much or how carefully the systems are grounded, it always seems to find a way to blow something up.Bottom line: Lightening does whatever the hell it wants to. Just stay out of the way and present the smallest target you can.[/green]
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We will receive our fair share of severe weather in North Central Texas in just a few months. Last March a tornado blasted through glass hi-rise office buildings in downtown Fort Worth. The damage was extensive enough to force the owners to demolish a few of them. I've already had a Mercedes totalled and my truck severely damaged by softball sized hail. I plan to keep the stook under cover for much of the spring. I usually watch the weather channel more frequently and my browser gives me some warning of approaching storms. I didn't purchase my S2K until the late summer last year but I still managed to get hit by lightning while standing next to it last October. Fortunately it was just a little leader that hit my umbrella when the main bolt hit a nearby utility pole.
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Originally posted by svann
We will receive our fair share of severe weather in North Central Texas in just a few months. Last March a tornado blasted through glass hi-rise office buildings in downtown Fort Worth. The damage was extensive enough to force the owners to demolish a few of them. I've already had a Mercedes totalled and my truck severely damaged by softball sized hail. I plan to keep the stook under cover for much of the spring. I usually watch the weather channel more frequently and my browser gives me some warning of approaching storms. I didn't purchase my S2K until the late summer last year but I still managed to get hit by lightning while standing next to it last October. Fortunately it was just a little leader that hit my umbrella when the main bolt hit a nearby utility pole.
We will receive our fair share of severe weather in North Central Texas in just a few months. Last March a tornado blasted through glass hi-rise office buildings in downtown Fort Worth. The damage was extensive enough to force the owners to demolish a few of them. I've already had a Mercedes totalled and my truck severely damaged by softball sized hail. I plan to keep the stook under cover for much of the spring. I usually watch the weather channel more frequently and my browser gives me some warning of approaching storms. I didn't purchase my S2K until the late summer last year but I still managed to get hit by lightning while standing next to it last October. Fortunately it was just a little leader that hit my umbrella when the main bolt hit a nearby utility pole.
I check the weather daily via the web straight from the Bureau of Meteorology but I think I'm going to start getting the weather updates sent to my mobile.
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From: Pflugerville, Texas
Yeah, I felt a zap as the arc traced from the umbrella shaft to the fingers of my other hand. I also felt a pop when it exited my foot. No damage done luckily.
If you ever see reruns of "Dangerous Weather" or "Killer Storms" on TLC or TDC you will often see the huge hail storm that hit us back in '95. The bad part was that it struck with little warning during an outdoor festival called Mayfest. Same storm destroyed my Mercedes, my roof, and seriously damaged my truck. The Miata escaped injury beneath a carport. It sounds like a dumptruck full of bowling balls dropped on your house or perhaps a herd of wild elephants. Bad stuff.
As for deadly lightning, talk to the folks in Florida "The Sunshine State"
If you ever see reruns of "Dangerous Weather" or "Killer Storms" on TLC or TDC you will often see the huge hail storm that hit us back in '95. The bad part was that it struck with little warning during an outdoor festival called Mayfest. Same storm destroyed my Mercedes, my roof, and seriously damaged my truck. The Miata escaped injury beneath a carport. It sounds like a dumptruck full of bowling balls dropped on your house or perhaps a herd of wild elephants. Bad stuff.
As for deadly lightning, talk to the folks in Florida "The Sunshine State"