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Metal Detecting with Lightning Strikes nearby

kamogawa

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
385
This is the time of year in particular to be aware of weather conditions
whether on land or around water. Storms can build up very quickly
and lightning can quickly become a danger with little warning There are Lightning Strike Apps that you can download on your phone to better assess the proximity of lightning in your area.
 
This is the time of year in particular to be aware of weather conditions
whether on land or around water. Storms can build up very quickly
and lightning can quickly become a danger with little warning There are Lightning Strike Apps that you can download on your phone to better assess the proximity of lightning in your area.

Good that you posted that reminder to be alert this time of year ! :thumbsup:

Reminded me of this past funny edit, lightning is serious and nothing to take chances with, but maybe this funny edit will help remind people when it's time to quit and get to safety fast :lol: (but use the apps the OP mentioned so you are safe BEFORE lightning gets THAT close !)
lightningfield2.jpg
 
years ago, the TV news told about a golf guy that hit his club & knocked his shoes off - our Detectors could do the thing...
 
Good that you posted that reminder to be alert this time of year ! :thumbsup:

Reminded me of this past funny edit, lightning is serious and nothing to take chances with, but maybe this funny edit will help remind people when it's time to quit and get to safety fast :lol: (but use the apps the OP mentioned so you are safe BEFORE lightning gets THAT close !)
View attachment 502225

Ha Ha Ha!

A lot of people would stay out there in the middle of that storm to find their
gold.
 
My Xcal will false every time there is lightning within a number of miles. When it stzrts i start heading for shelter.
 
Caddy Shack. The scene where the priest gets hit by lightning, and Bill Murray's character slinks off out of sight in the rainstorm.

Roger
 
Had a video surveillance system at my previous house. I live in the lightning Capitol. Big pine tree in the yard next door got hit with a big bolt. In the single frames you can see it jump from the tree to a bunch of Palmettoes wet with rain. Then chunks of wood falling. The tree died. If i had been by my truck which was 12 feet from there i would probably not be here. This was a massive pine tree too. House i live in now i grew up in. When we were kids me and my sister were looking out the front window and lightning hit and blew the telephone pole in two. It landed the wires on the chain link fence. Luckily nobody was outside at the time. My GF wonders why i am so scared of lightning.:shock:
 
my crane was struck by lightning two years ago. knocked out all the electronics so i had no way of knowing wind speed, weights, or trolley distances. had to run it that way for two months
 
Where folks get into trouble is they don’t realize lightning doesn’t necessarily come straight down. It can drop and move horizontally moreso and strike miles away where a person may not even have a cloud over there head. Dry air ahead of thunderstorm makes for good lightning paths.
You hear thunder and it is getting louder.
Seek shelter.


Also remember this.
Lighting in a thunderstorm.
It has to occur first somewhere.
So the first lightning bolt could be in your vicinity.

Lightning can be like a tornado.
Could a person watching NWS- severe storms forecast center waiting for tornado warning get hit by tornado before warning is issued? Yep.
Tornado could develop that fast. It has to start somewhere. That somewhere could be where you presently are.
Granted the warnings can and do save lives for those that need and take cover. System still not bullet proof though.
 
Where folks get into trouble is they don’t realize lightning doesn’t necessarily come straight down. It can drop and move horizontally moreso and strike miles away where a person may not even have a cloud over there head. Dry air ahead of thunderstorm makes for good lightning paths.
You hear thunder and it is getting louder.
Seek shelter.


Also remember this.
Lighting in a thunderstorm.
It has to occur first somewhere.
So the first lightning bolt could be in your vicinity.

Lightning can be like a tornado.
Could a person watching NWS- severe storms forecast center waiting for tornado warning get hit by tornado before warning is issued? Yep.
Tornado could develop that fast. It has to start somewhere. That somewhere could be where you presently are.
Granted the warnings can and do save lives for those that need and take cover. System still not bullet proof though.

Thanks for the additional information! I actually saw a video the other day that showed a vertical lightning strike. I had never seen something like that, so your
explanation of the dangers of a type of lightning we are unfamiliar is important. I like the general rule you spoke of that when you hear thunder, it is time to seek shelter. If I can find that video of the horizontal lightning, I will post it.
 
Thanks for the additional information! I actually saw a video the other day that showed a vertical lightning strike. I had never seen something like that, so your
explanation of the dangers of a type of lightning we are unfamiliar is important. I like the general rule you spoke of that when you hear thunder, it is time to seek shelter. If I can find that video of the horizontal lightning, I will post it.

Here is a rough rule of thumb I learned when I was in the Army.

Count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning.

5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = oh shoot!.
 
Here is a rough rule of thumb I learned when I was in the Army.

Count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning.

5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = oh shoot!.

Here are some "Oh shoot!" examples

https://youtu.be/vp8ZxNc4rmk
 
Where folks get into trouble is they don’t realize lightning doesn’t necessarily come straight down. It can drop and move horizontally moreso and strike miles away where a person may not even have a cloud over there head. Dry air ahead of thunderstorm makes for good lightning paths.
You hear thunder and it is getting louder.
Seek shelter.


Also remember this.
Lighting in a thunderstorm.
It has to occur first somewhere.
So the first lightning bolt could be in your vicinity.

Lightning can be like a tornado.
Could a person watching NWS- severe storms forecast center waiting for tornado warning get hit by tornado before warning is issued? Yep.
Tornado could develop that fast. It has to start somewhere. That somewhere could be where you presently are.
Granted the warnings can and do save lives for those that need and take cover. System still not bullet proof though.

https://youtu.be/fftxUX_m-8M

I read an interesting news story that touches on your point. There was a man who was struck by lightning in what was was estimated to be a storm approximately 12 miles away. The fascinating part was that the storm was occurring on the other side of a short mountain range and the lightning arched over the mountain to the dry-climate area where he was standing.

I went back and tried to find the story to post it here, but here is an article that is interesting in relation to lightning strike distance.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/31/weather/lightning-megaflash-record/index.html
 
Last edited:
thanx Rudy

Does lightning strike from the sky down, or the ground up?

The answer is both. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning comes from the sky down, but the part you see comes from the ground up
 
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