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Nasty lightning storm over my place this afternoon. The phones got taken out but I think the power strip took the brunt of the strike, so hope the phones will be OK.
Hope everyone is safe and inside. Looks to be some more activity over Cape Kumukaki right now with the system moving slowly eastwards.
I used to enjoy thunder storms and lightning, but had some bad experiences here a decade or so ago, so they make me a little nervous these days.
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I love the way my fluorescent lights provide free light for a few seconds after a near hit. I seem to have an attractive target for lIghtning "feelers". About 5 times now I got a jolt from the big stainless steel wheel.
I suspect all the copper paint on the hulls.
Former Puna Beach Resident
Now sailing in SE Asia
HOT BuOYS Sailing
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quote:
Originally posted by TomK
Nasty lightning storm over my place this afternoon. The phones got taken out but I think the power strip took the brunt of the strike, so hope the phones will be OK.
Hope everyone is safe and inside. Looks to be some more activity over Cape Kumukaki right now with the system moving slowly eastwards.
I used to enjoy thunder storms and lightning, but had some bad experiences here a decade or so ago, so they make me a little nervous these days.
I am curious about those bad lightning experiences, Tom. At risk of being way nosy here
I am hoping you might share some hard won knowledge about lightning.
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tingling a sign of poor bonding - have seen sailboats blow all the thru hulls out of the hull during a strike due to improper bonding.
Nigel Calder does a good job of describing the options - floating or bonded grounds - a dark science.
electrocution will ruin your day, not to mention electrolysis due to same (have seen aluminum mast turn to dust) if not done right.
"grounding" would the equivalent for a house .....remember the story in the trib about a lightning ball bouncing through the kitchen? lighting needs to be managed
fair winds
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Mr. Tom, nasty is the word, Sir! WOW! [:0]
Close strikes at the hale, dogs freaking out in the kitchen, tried to cook early for the mo'opuna, and the strikes were so close, even got me a little shaken! It was the crackling sound, and the immediate thunder right after the flash, which seemed right outside the kitchen windows!
The rain is welcome, but that lightning and thunder was scary!
Be safe all.
JMO.
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No problem, gogould. In fact I wrote about them here in the past, so will just cut and paste if you don't mind. From this thread:
http://www.punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17237
"
Way back in 2003 I went through the most frightening thunder storm I've experienced. Always meant to tell the story on my blog but never got around to it. The house was stuck three times by lightning by a storm that moved in and then just seemed to hang around for 20 minutes over Kaloli Point before moving off after it did all its damage. I used to love thunder and lightning but ever since then I kind of become a bit of a nervous wreck whenever I hear thunder. The next year saw another spectacular storm over the house and again the the year after. The one in 2005 I won't forget either. Power went off, the lanai was flooding and while checking how much water was on the lanai with a flashlight about 10 yards away there was a huge flash and my hand was blown off the screen door. It tingled for a good couple of hours afterwards while I sat in the middle-most part of the house I could find."
[...]
"
Oh, and you know what was so strange about the lightning hits in 2003? All my expensive electronic stuff survived. The cheaper stuff (phones, alarm clock, door bell) all got destroyed. The phone line to my house got vaporized. Everything else survived although that old TV of mine had a vivid vivid green tinge to the picture for a month afterwards. Only in the lower half though and it did go away after a while. The weirdest thing was my radio/alarm clock. It still worked but only told the correct time between 11am and noon. Once it got to midday it stopped but would start working the next day at 11am."
