General Question

Coloma's avatar

Was my house just struck by lightening? Storm experts and electricticians, what just happened to my house?

Asked by Coloma (47193points) June 1st, 2011

Just had a massive T-storm go over, the loudest thunder, and then, I heard a loud Zap sound and sparks fell off of my roof beneath the window
All power is on, satellite dish good, no smoke, no fire, what HAPPENED? I saw no lightening,where did the sparks come from?

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33 Answers

LuckyGuy's avatar

Most likely, Yes! You were hit and the gounding system worked perfectly. I’ll bet your well casing took the bulk of the current.

Are the protective pellets in your land line phone box still good? They often pop.

AmWiser's avatar

If the storm has passed over, have you walked outside to take a look around your property for any kind of damage. Whew! That had to be scary. Be careful.

Brian1946's avatar

Are there any power lines nearby?

If there are, something might have caused a temporary short between uninsulated power lines, although that usually results in a power loss.

I think worriedguy’s explanation is more likely; I’m just offering an alternate one.

YARNLADY's avatar

Yes, didn’t you see the severe storm warnings on TV? Channel 3 had been on all afternoon with graphics of the storm, including the location and placement of the lightning strikes.

XOIIO's avatar

Yes, your lucky, and it’s lightning.

WestRiverrat's avatar

Lightning can travel several miles from where it strikes to where it dissipates, and you don’t always see the spark when there is lightning.

I think you or a tree near you was hit.

Coloma's avatar

OMG! It is INSANE right now, ½ inch hale, torrential downpour…a wild, wild, day in these hills! I just read the weather alerts and they said cloud to ground lightening. I guess I was hit…wow! Thanks you guys….c-r-a-z-y JUne 1, in the Sierras!

I guess there is no damage, I don;t see any black holes on my roof! lol

Coloma's avatar

I think it hit my metal rain gutters!
No damage that I could see, yet. :-/

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Keep your eyes and nose on alert.

If you smell or see smoke call 911.

Coloma's avatar

@YARNLADY

I was gone all afternoon, heard the tornado warnings at my vets office, but, have only been home for about 45 minutes.
The biggest T-storm just passed. Amazing!

You guys are great, wow…just wow! haha

LuckyGuy's avatar

Did you feel your hair stand up? I’ve had that happen twice about 2–3 seconds before a nearby strike.
I’ll bet you can’t wait for darkness. It will be magical! Enjoy!

Have a flashlight handy.

Brian1946's avatar

@Coloma

Good luck to you and your house.

It’s in the low 70’s here and I can’t see even a trace of a cloud in our sky portion. It’s hard to believe that we live in the same state.

Coloma's avatar

@Brian1946

Mind blowing! lol
My neighbor buddy is on his way down to check out my roof right now.
Well…guess I can say I survived a lightening strike, that’s a bit of life trivia. haha

Coloma's avatar

@worriedguy

No, it was over in a ‘flash’! lol

Very unstable still, who knows whats next! ;-)

Coloma's avatar

Well everything has checked out, so far.
Not out of the woods yet, but…so far, so good!
Some excitement for sure!

Thanks everyone! :-D

bkcunningham's avatar

I just saw where there are tornadoes in Massachusetts. Four dead.

WasCy's avatar

@Coloma

I think your keyboard may have been hit. Your formatting and punctuation is kind of all over the place. Better have that checked out.

ETpro's avatar

I don’t know where you are, but we had over a dozen tornadoes touch down here in Massachusetts today. The last of the severe thunderstorms just cleared Boston a short time ago. At least 4 are dead. So I have a good feeling for what you just went through.

It sounds like you your house did take a bolt of lightning. You’re very fortunate there was no fire or damage to electronics. I would get someone to go up to where you saw those sparks fly from though and have them see what produced them. Just make sure there was no structural damage that would need repairs.

I was standing in the kitchen years ago when our hose took a hit. A blot of lightning came out of the kitchen sink spigot and went straight to the metal around the drain. Ever since seeing that, I have taken very seriously the warnings to avoid plumbing when there is active lightning in your area.

bkcunningham's avatar

Be safe everyone in harm’s way. The tornadoes in Massachusetts are really rare. Stay safe @ETpro.

Coloma's avatar

@ETpro

I’m in the Northern California foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, we are having some crazy, severe weather too! Very unusual for this time of year.
More T-storms happening now.
Rare here too!

filmfann's avatar

Your house may have been struck, or it may have struck very close to your house, and the charge traveled through the ground. Check out this video of people at a soccer game, when lightning struck close by.

ETpro's avatar

@bkcunningham Thanks. The weatrerman here said we had more tornadoes touch down today than the state typically gets in an entire year.

@Coloma You be safe too. All the nasty, crazy weahter this year is proof of just how far Al Gore will go to make people believe his hoax about global climate change.

Coloma's avatar

@WasCy

Haha…hey, I’m an excitable blonde. Need I say more!
Punctuation & formatting be damned, I’m on fire over here! lol

bkcunningham's avatar

Get your roof and attic area checked out tonight @Coloma. Seriously. Be safe.

Coloma's avatar

@ETpro

Screw Gore…the gods are angry! haha

@bkcunningham
Yes, it’s done, all good, at least as is apparent. Thanks. :-)

WasCy's avatar

@Coloma

If you’re on fire, that could be another sign that something is wrong.

YARNLADY's avatar

@WasCy I laughed out loud at that one.

JLeslie's avatar

Just a reminder if you have a lot of storms coming through. If your electricity goes out be careful about walking outside where the ground might be very wet and a downed live wire can deliver a deadly current if you step into the water.

Brian1946's avatar

I just heard that there was a tornado in the Sacramento area, so perhaps you were hit by the same storm system. :-o

Nullo's avatar

I didn’t think that California got tornadoes.
Glad to hear you’re alright, @Coloma.

Coloma's avatar

@Nullo Thanks, all well.

It is very unusual but, it can happen now and then when conditions are just right.

YARNLADY's avatar

@Nullo In the Northern California area, we get several tornadoes every year. They are very short lived and low intensity. When they touch down, it is usually in fields or less populated areas, ripping up orchards and maybe a shed here and there.

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