Did our house just get hit by lightning?

by Kieran on August 11, 2009

“Did our house just get hit by lightning?” is the question my wife and I were asking ourselves the other night.

As is typical in the Northeast during summer, some big thunderstorms rolled in late Monday night. Being the weather junky that I am I was all over the watches and warnings that were popping up around us. Around 9:45pm a severe thunderstorm warning, as opposed to a watch, went live for our immediate area. The warning stated that a strong thunderstorm cell with lightning, hail, wind and rain was heading right for us. Super! Looking outside you could tell something was on its way considering how the sky was lighting up in the distance. So, I went back to watching some chick flix with my wife with one eye on the movie and one eye on the skies.

Around 10pm, our living room (which only had the TV on), lit up like it was daylight and the loudest thunder clap I have ever heard went off right over our heads. Lights flickered on and off, toys started to bug out, Cable / TV / Internet went out and half our house lost power … we went to look out the window (not the smartest idea) and saw another lighting bolt hit the apartment complex about 200 yards away…yeah this storm wasn’t messing around.

After gathering our senses, checking on the kids and making sure the roof or anything else wasn’t on fire my mind went to my computers…when I knew a big storm was approaching I turned off the computers and other electric devices. Considering that I have a fairly good surge protector I was confident everything would be fine. Yeah, it wasn’t. PC wouldn’t power on, switched outlets and plugs…nothing. Great, onto Best Buy where thankfully the data on the HardDrive was recoverable and everything else was under warranty. * BTW I found out that the “surge” went through the cable / cable modem and friend my PC that way, not through the power outlet.

I have been through some wild weather situations – stuck in a blizzard at college when everyone else was on spring break, tornado in Vermont, hurricanes, flooding…but this was probably the wildest considering I am fairly certain our house was hit by lighting.

So, lets summarize this wonderful weather experience and go over a few things that I have learned:

  • Mother Nature does not mess around
  • Cablevision has great customer service – they were very helpful throughout the process. Around 11am the next day a technician came and fixed everything…even programmed the remote!
  • Electricians are very expensive
  • Best Buy’s Geek Squad are very helpful and understanding – I might have been a bit on edge about the possibility of losing the info on my Harddrive.
  • Don’t go to the window during a major lightning storm!

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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Tamaryn August 12, 2009 at 10:25 am

It’s very possible. As a child, my cousin’s house was hit by lightning – twice – in the same spot. Other possibilities include lightning striking the ground very close to your house. People have been electrocuted through their windows on such occasions.

I too am fascinated by weather. I have never seen a tornado, but I’ve always wanted to. Lightning storms in the middle of winter, though rare, are the best.

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