[TowerTalk] Lightning protection and a close one

[K8RI]

On 7/8/2013 10:56 AM, Jim Lux wrote:
> On 7/8/13 7:43 AM, Cqtestk4xs at aol.com wrote:
>> I've told this one before.  I was working on stuff in the yard  on a
>> summer
>> day in FL.  I was located about 15 feet form my well and about  10 feet
>> from the guy wire on one of my towers.
>>
>> There was a distant (probably at least 15 miles or more away)  T-storm
>> starting to build, but from experience I knew it would be at least 30
>> minutes
>> or more if it moved in my direction before it arrived.
>
>> Moral of the story:  Lightning can strike out of an almost  clear blue
>> sky.
>>   Be careful!!
>>
> I recall an American Meteorological Society paper that said roughly half
> of lightning fatalities in FLorida are "bolts from the blue": more than
> 10 km from the nearest storm.

Many years ago (there's that statement again) I was flying from Midland 
Mi to Houghton Lake. It's a short hop of 49 nautical miles and yes, I've 
told this many times before.

There was only one storm to be seen in any direction with its large 
Cumulus right over Gladwin which was directly in our flight path. My 
passenger, also a pilot and ham, flew a twin, but he only flew in "good 
weather". Me? I flew in anythingI chose to fly straight North which 
would put us about 12 miles ahead of the slow moving storm.  I would 
have preferred to go behind it, but figured we'd probably be safe. At 
altitude, big thunderstorms often drop hail which gets tossed out the 
top of a sloping storm to fall some ten miles or more in front of the 
storm.  It may never reach the ground, but may be 3 or 4" or more at 
altitude. it's usually tiny or gone by the time it reaches 5000.

 From 5000 feet it was very picturesque, even awesome, much as I dislike 
that adjective. My friend kept watching the storm and finally asked, 
"How close do we dare get to that thing?". It really did give a feeling 
of insignificance when looking up at that huge Cumulus, which was 
probably topping 40,000 feet, from the little Piper Cherokee 180 which 
was putting along a mile above the ground.

He had no more than asked the question when a fat, blue, bolt cane out 
of the storm at our altitude and headed straight toward us.  It finally 
curved down to strike the ground about two miles from us and a good ten 
miles from the storm in bright sunlight. All I could say, was " does 
that answer your question?"  The timing really was as if it was an 
answer to his question.


 From our position it did put it in perspective, but on the ground it 
would have been a storm in the distance with "a bolt out of the blue"

73

Roger (K8RI)


>
> It is a fairly common phenomenon, and there's actually photographs of
> the lightning stroke emerging from about 1/2 way up the cloud (at
> 20k-30k ft), going horizontal 10km, and then going 10km vertical down to
> the ground.
>
>
> Most people are smart enough to stay indoors or seek shelter when the
> lightning is active over their heads, but the cell passes, the sun comes
> out, and they go back outside, and BANG: you've just added to the
> Florida human lightning strike statistics.
>
>
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