Can lightning strike you through a closed window or a firepl

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NewTime
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13 Jun 2017, 8:47 pm

Can lightning strike you through a closed window or through a fireplace?



leejosepho
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14 Jun 2017, 10:47 am

I would doubt lightning can pass through glass (a non-conductor) or change its course to reach out of a fireplace. Also, I believe the charge actually begins at the ground and then arcs into the sky rather than "striking" from above even though that is how things appear.


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Misslizard
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14 Jun 2017, 11:01 am

It can come down a fireplace,a friend saw rare ball lightning do that.it can travel down a phone line or electrical wire into the house and wreck havoc with electrical appliances.
It struck a clothesline outside my window once,I was around five and somehow slept thru it.I was on a metal frame bed and it melted my moms panty hose hanging on the edge of the bed.She had placed them there to dry,they were dry alright,like crunchy.


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leejosepho
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14 Jun 2017, 11:08 am

Misslizard wrote:
It can come down a fireplace, a friend saw rare ball lightning do that.

Yes, but an arc would not come out of the fireplace and strike someone unless possibly s/he happened to be standing immediately beside the opening at the time.


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Joe90
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14 Jun 2017, 11:11 am

I get worried about lightning. I love thunderstorms, but I go around the house turning everything off or unplugging things because I worry that lightning might interfere with electrical things.
I'd also like to know how one knows when their own house has been hit by lightning. Obviously they'll know sooner or later, but I mean the first instant. And do all houses go up in flames when struck?


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Misslizard
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14 Jun 2017, 11:20 am

You'll know if it hits your house.Boom.Lightning struck the corner of the roof of a neighbors house.The corner of the roof was on fire and people were running around trying to extinguish it.The were able to save the house with minor damage.
Some other folks had a cedar log house burn to the ground after a lightning strike,they were inside and heard the boom and fire shot out of all the electrical outlets and they barely got out.Sometime this is becuse the electrical system isn't grounded good.Its not unusual for cattle to get zapped if they are standing under a tree that gets hit.A dairy farmer just lost several head that way.


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leejosepho
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14 Jun 2017, 11:35 am

Lightning struck our outside television antenna a few days ago and I heard an additional "snap" (like snapped fingers) when our digital tuner's cork popped. Also, the time delay between the flash and the boom can help tell how far away the strike might have been, so a booming flash means it was very close.


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alk123
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14 Jun 2017, 1:33 pm

I usually watch this map. Love watching storms from afar, but become cautious when lightning/thunder is close by.
http://www.lightningmaps.org/