[CASILIST] [Fwd: Fwd: I Was Indirectly Hit By Lightning For 3rd Time Yesterday In 3Years]
J (j{at}weatherwatchers.org)
6 Jun 1999 21:20:20 -0000
Thomas Giella wrote:
>
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> Subject: Fwd: I Was Indirectly Hit By Lightning For 3rd Time Yesterday In 3
> Years
> Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 17:06:48 -0400 (EDT)
> From: kn4lf{at}webtv.net (Thomas Giella)
> To: casilist{at}weatherwatchers.org
>
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> Subject: I Was Indirectly Hit By Lightning For 3rd Time Yesterday In 3 Years
> Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1999 15:22:33 -0400 (EDT)
> From: kn4lf{at}webtv.net (Thomas Giella)
> To: j{at}weatherwatchers.org
>
> J, Please place this on the CASILIST email system.
>
> Let me start by giving you a little backgrond information. 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. 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 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, 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. I'm an Amateur Radio Operator and
> my radio shack and weather instrments are in my bedroom. 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 electricitybefore 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, my lightning detection
> system vaporized, my electronic weather station was destroyed, as well
> as an exensive communications receiver. 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!!!
>
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