Lightning Storm

[Frank]

Just heard the loudest lightning/thunder clap ever. My wife, Laura, and I were playing Rumikub on the lanai ... our usual lunchtime fun. We've had a lightning storm around us for about 15 hours but that big one was just too close. Scared the bejeezus out of us. I guess it hit 300-500 feet away. Our neighbor called, thinking it might have hit our house.
As I was laying in bed last night listening to the thunder and seeing the flashes I got to thinking about the safety of being in a waterbed on the upper floor. What do you all think? Its heated and the heater has a grounded plug.
Feeling a little sorry for the tourists visiting Kauai the past few weeks. Its been so rainy. Today we have flash flood warnings, the roads are flooded, a couple of houses slid off their foundations up in Haena and there have been several landslides up there as well. The Wailua River below our house is raging and the ocean is brown around the river outfalls. Not the best vacation weather!

[OWC Jamie]

Frank wrote:

As I was laying in bed last night listening to the thunder and seeing the flashes I got to thinking about the safety of being in a waterbed on the upper floor. What do you all think? Its heated and the heater has a grounded plug. !

(most of) The bed probably won't burn in the fire.

[DP]

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,2241808

[blooz]

Consider sleeping on the sofa for a while.
Last summer we had a client from Alaska at our facility for recovering addicts and she had never seen a thunderstorm. Apparently they don't get many of those in Alaska. She sat out in a chair in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm having the time of her life. Got totally soaked of course, but managed to avoid getting electrocuted. Management would have been aghast, but those of us at a lower level figured her chances of survival were good.

[jdc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-af9Q-zvQ

[Frank]

jdc wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-af9Q-zvQ

Love that! Great memories.

[Frank]

DP wrote:
http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,2241808

Yeah, I know, but people pay big bucks to come here for warm sunny weather. Guess I shouldn't be complaining.

[Fred_Also]

In 2015 there was a house about a mile from my house that was struck by lightning late in the day. I was standing in my living room and I thought it struck the electric pole just behind my house. I took this picture about 5 minutes after the strike. It was fully engulfed in flames.

The people were home and said they had to hurry to get their kids and pets out before it was fully engulfed in flames. Volunteer fire dept was about 2 miles away and got there quickly. Only thing left standing were the front walls.

They sold the property and the new owner took a big bucket loader and cleared it off down to the slab. They built a new house using the old slab.

I realized if you get a direct strike, grab family and pets and get OUT!



Only the front walls left standing.


Fred

[Frank]

Fred_Also wrote:
In 2015 there was a house about a mile from my house that was struck by lightning late in the day. I was standing in my living room and I thought it struck the electric pole just behind my house. I took this picture about 5 minutes after the strike. It was fully engulfed in flames.

The people were home and said they had to hurry to get their kids and pets out before it was fully engulfed in flames. Volunteer fire dept was about 2 miles away and got there quickly. Only thing left standing were the front walls.

They sold the property and the new owner took a big bucket loader and cleared it off down to the slab. They built a new house using the old slab.

I realized if you get a direct strike, grab family and pets and get OUT!



Only the front walls left standing.


Fred

Interesting that the lightning bolt didn't hit that tower to the left of the house instead.

[DP]

Frank wrote:
[quote=DP]
http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,2241808

Yeah, I know, but people pay big bucks to come here for warm sunny weather. Guess I shouldn't be complaining.
I know, I was just tweaking you a bit. I would love to see a Spring thundershower along about now! We're still predicted to get cold and snow-well, snow flurries anyway-for a few days yet.