Here’s hoping that everybody in Washington DC has the frizzies.
Why we shoul pay attention in science class
WOW - I’ve never seen anything like that!
We were at the top of Admiral Way in West Seattle (a roadside lookout) watching that amazing lightning storm hit downtown Seattle about 20+ years ago when everyone’s hair started standing on end. Shortly after that a bolt hit the ground about a hundred feet from us. It looked like it was 15 feet wide. The guys sitting on the railing apparently got a “side shock” because they all jumped off the bar, uncontrollably, when it struck.
I never had much experience with lightning in Ohio but when we moved to South Louisiana, locals always said that if your hair stands up, drop to the ground immediately.
apparently neither were seriously injured and thats a good thing.
There is much about this world that we do not know.
Know the feeling.
I used to work high voltage (138KV thousand volts)in “cable pits”. Some of these cables were 20+ years old. When you would go in the pit you were required to put a welders cap on so that your hair would not stand on end. You did not want your hair touching the energized cables while you worked on the one that was down.
I remember putting a piece of Scotch 88 electrical tape over the cap and under my chin to make sure the cap stayed on. Real safe conditions
Ah, the good ol days....where men were men and the sheep were scared.....
This hair-standing happened to my wife while watching her kid’s football practice. She and the boy left right away. No one was hurt.
Shocking!
I had the same thing happen seven years ago while hiking in Zion National Park. It was a weird feeling followed by the lightning strike. There was no rain, just one quick lightning bolt that zapped me pretty hard. The pre strike feeling was unusual.
I had sneakers on and it really hurt the arches of both feet afterward. Knocked me silly and I was a bit concerned as I was close to a canyon ledge but recovered quickly and continued hiking.
I have 2 lightning stories.
My cousin was fishing on Lake Michigan. He was casting and retrieving from shore. A storm is closing in but not over head yet. He cast and the lure kept going... Up. He watched with jaw dropped for a second then realized he was about to be Ben Franklin.
Story 2: that same cousin and I got stuck at the reef line in the Florida keys while running from a storm. We had been trolling outside the reef line. We anchored and waited for the tow boat. The storm hits and lightning is hitting all around us. During a short break in the storm I realized the VHF antenna and graphite rods were humming - in vertical rod holders. We put them on the deck and prayed. Meanwhile I had a Bonita with a shark hook in its back in the water as a wtf line. Cousin looks over at one point in his Chicago accent says “lemme get this straight. We are surrounded by lighting in a stuck boat. We might need to jump in at some point. And, you are chumming for sharks????”
Good times
I guess we balding olde fartes get no warning?
If your hair ever stands up, what sort of refuge might be advisable? Lower ground... close to rocks or structures ...in an open space?
Lightening, def. : a drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis.
I guess my hair would stand on end too, if I were struck by an uterus.
It’s lightning. Geez.
Have lost two transformers at my house to lightning strikes and have had the power knocked out upline many times.
One summer storm cell took out four power poles in a row on the highway about two miles away. The poles blew apart in their middles and looked like a grenade had been placed in each one.
Have seen a few identical double parallel cloud to ground strikes. One early morning while driving in to work in the 80s I saw an identical triple strike-—only one I’ve ever seen. That would have made a great photo.
The hair on my arm stood up in the middle of an athletic field as a storm rolled in one day back in college. I knew what it was and sprinted for the building.
The bolt came down about 300 yards away a few seconds later.
minutes? or seconds?
Many moons ago was on the summit ridge of Mt. Eolus in the CO Rockies with my brother, about 150 yards from the top.
Unbeknownst to us, a storm had been approaching from the other side of the mountain.
Shortly after getting onto the ridge, hair began standing on end and sparks jumping off our ice axes.
We immediately bailed out the quickest route down. Probably 5 minutes later lightning struck the ridge we’d been on.
Very exciting.
That means two things:
1) Mother Nature is locking you on target.
2) It’s high time to GTFO of Dodge.