Topband: Close Calls With Lightning

[Thomas Giella]

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I would like to submit this to the topband reflector.

        Let me start by giving you a little backgrond information. My call is
KN4LF, the name is Thomas Giella, the age here is 43 and I live in Plant
City, Fl., in the heart of the lightning capital of the U.S. I have 33
years of amateur weather observing experience, with a special interest
in thunderstorms and lightning and 20 years of professional weather
forecasting experience, so I know of the quirkiness and dangers of
lightning. 

        Lightning incident #3, June 5,1999. I currently work at a state
correctional institution, with many, many lightning targets around like
lighting poles, miles of fencing and communications towers, etc. Every
summer the institution suffers numerous electronic equipment damaging
lightning strikes, even with some very serious lightning protection
systems in place. The time is approximately 3:55 pm as I'm quickly
walking to my assigned post, with the institution surrounded by
developing thunderstorms, though no lightning has yet occurred. I look
back over my left shoulder at one developing storm approximately one
mile to my southeast, keeping in mind the numerous minor injuries due to
lightning on the mile wide compound over the years. That's when it
happens. I observe lightning strike our 150 foot communications tower
approximately 200 yards to my south and simultaneously strike a 30 foot
tall concrete lighting pole approximately 30 yards to my south, standing
adjacent to an 8 foot tall security chain link fence. The concussion of
thunder is deafening, as the lightning flows onto the nearby 8 foot
chain link security fence, that I'm only 3 feet away from. I see the
charge pass by me, with a piece in the form of a miniature lightning
bolt jump off the fence and hit me on th left side of my head, singing
my hair. The charge made a buzzing, snapping sound as it passed by me on
the fence. The complete 8 foot vertical chain link was engulfed in a
solid curtain of fluid like electricity. I was completely dazed by the
electrical charge for about 40 minutes and I'm still a little dull
mentally, three days later. Approximately 1 hour after the incident my
pulse was still 110 beats per minute verses my normal 60, blood pressure
155/105 versus my normal 110/55, my body temperature 101 degrees. It has
now been approximately 24 hours since the incident and I still feel
weak, shaky, my skin still crawling and half deaf. By the way while at
the local hospital emergency room, the ER admitting receptionist was
similarly injured by lighning when it zapped her while on her
computer!!! 

        Lightning incident #2, October 18,1998. 
I always leave my radio equipment unplugged and grounded when not in
use, during the thunderstorm season which generally runs from mid May to
Mid September. Before I operate I always go outside and check the
weather. When I went ouside I immediately noticed an out of season
airmass thunderstorm developing approximately three miles to my north. I
have a 258 foot long L antenna up 45 feet for 160 meters, which is
directly grounded outside to four ten foot ground rods. I decided to
check the grounding system real quick, just in case I had forgotten to
attach the two very large alligator clips which complete the grounding
circuit, which by the way "were not" connected to each other. The moment
I grabbed the clip on the antenna side with one hand, The very first
lightning strike to occur with the storm, struck a power pole
approximately 100 yards away, inductively coupled to my antenna and
shocked the heck out of me. I was very lucky to escape without any
permanent injury, only 30 minutes in a daze.

        Lightning incident #1, July 17,1997.  My radio shack and weather
instrments were in my bedroomat the time. A typical summer thunderstorm
was raging outside. My wife and I were laying on our bed reading, when
lightning made a direct hit on my homebrew lightning detection system!
The sensor was mounted on a grounded steel mast 45 feet in the air, with
it's receiver in the bedroom. My wife and I received a significant
electrical shock when the lightning entered the room, actually a ball of
lightning. We felt intense heat, smelled ozone, felt static electricity
before and after and were both pretty much deafened for one week from
the crack of thunder. The following damage occurred, the eave of my
house caught fire but fortunately was put out by the rain, my lightning
detection system vaporized, my electronic weather station was destroyed,
as well as an exensive communications receiver. I was very fortunate not
to have lost my rig and other radio equipment. We also lost the
following appliances around the house, none of which were plugged in in
any way. Three televisions, three telephones, one stereo system and a
microwave oven. We always unplug everything when a storm threatens. All
were damaged by an inductively coupled electromagnetic pulse!!!
   No matter how knowledgeable and cautious you may be concerning
lightning, it can still get you, so beware!

http://members.tripod.com/~kn4lf/index.html

73 to all, Thom




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