How close has lightning come to hitting you?

[Turtle]

You know what to do.

Rather than post stories you have here, please go to the thread on lightning:
Lightning Thread 124468

[orbsycli]

Here in Florida I've seen it about 100 meters away,
and my god was it LOUD!
it slapped the ground and bounced back into the sky with frequencies all the way down to 0!

I'm not worried, there's so much more to hit than me..

[infamous]

As a young man fresh out of the military, I got a job laying drainage tile for a construction company. One afternoon, about 2:00 PM or so, we were just finishing up a section when a thunderstorm rolled in. I had just climbed out of the ditch when lightning struck about 8 feet from where I was standing. We had positioned the back-hoe in this spot and the lightning struck it and then made it's way across the surface of the ground between it and the ditch. I watched in horror as the lightning traversed from the back-hoe into the ditch no more that a few feet from where I was standing. Needless to say, we all got out of there in one hell of a hurry.........................Infy

[orbsycli]

damn!

[Jay-qu]

Im glad no-one has selected the "I have been struck by lightning" it couldnt be nearly as fun as it sounds

[Mercedes Benzene]

I was at my friend's house after school a couple years ago...
And all of a sudden this HUGE storm (one of the biggest/strongest I've seen in my life) started. I later found out a tornado went through our neigborhood, and condemned 2 houses. [Something like 10 million dollars worth of damages were sustained in those houses alone.]
Anyway, lightning struck very near to my friends house. I think about 5 car alarms went off in the general area. That's the closest I ever was to lightning. I would say that it was no further than 200 meters.

[Jay-qu]

Originally Posted by Mercedes Benzene

I later found out a tornado went through our neigborhood, and condemned 2 houses. [Something like 10 million dollars worth of damages were sustained in those houses alone.]

They must have been 2 pretty well decked out houses!

[ronthepon]

Lightning strikes the top of the building I live in... every time there is heavy rain.

[Mercedes Benzene]

They must have been 2 pretty well decked out houses!

Well. Figure 3.5 million each for each house itself. Then split the remaining 3 million between the two for furnishings/cars and other goodies.

Anyway, here's another good lightning story. I was on vacation in Florida, and apparently it storms there everyday . Anyway, we were driving along a road running parallel to a field. All of a sudden, something like 4 bolts of lightning shot down into the field, fairly close to each other. It reminded me of the movie "War of the Worlds". But it was pretty cool.
We weren't very close to the lightning... but it was certainly a magnificent sight!

[ronthepon]

Originally Posted by Mercedes Benzene

Anyway, here's another good lightning story. I was on vacation in Florida, and apparently it storms there everyday . Anyway, we were driving along a road running parallel to a field. All of a sudden, something like 4 bolts of lightning shot down into the field, fairly close to each other. It reminded me of the movie "War of the Worlds". But it was pretty cool.
We weren't very close to the lightning... but it was certainly a magnificent sight!

...and you were looking at the right time at the right moment...