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Lightning Strikes

Fake, I think.
The thunderclap would be louder, there would be some smoke/steam. The man would likely be dead, but if he survived he would require hospital treatment and would probably be deaf.
 
Picrure caption:

Striking image: A flash of lightning tears across the sky over Poole marina in Dorset at 11pm

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1LqPjXB9l

Just one problem - this is Portland Harbour (where the Olympic sailing will be based next year), not Poole! (On the left is Chesil Beach and the strip of water called the Fleet, which leads up to the swannery at Abbotsbury.)

But it's a great lightning photo!
:D
 
I stood in the rain in Morecambe a couple of nights ago with an umbrealla, trying to get a photo of the lightning. Everywhere I pointed the camera, it flashed somewhere else.
 
Spudrick68 said:
I stood in the rain in Morecambe a couple of nights ago with an umbrealla, trying to get a photo of the lightning. Everywhere I pointed the camera, it flashed somewhere else.

We're glad you lived to tell the tale!
 
Spudrick68 said:
I stood in the rain in Morecambe a couple of nights ago with an umbrealla, trying to get a photo of the lightning. Everywhere I pointed the camera, it flashed somewhere else.
What technique were you using? I believe you need a time exposure, and hence a tripod. It's best if you can program the camera to take a series of shots - with a bit of luck one of them might capture a lightning bolt!

If lightning is occurring all around, it's probably better to wait for the storm to move off to one side - then you have a better chance of getting your aim right.
 
I must confess to cheating by using the video on the camera, and then was going to lift a photo from that! :oops:
 
Spudrick68 said:
I must confess to cheating by using the video on the camera, and then was going to lift a photo from that! :oops:
Like the Mail does with this one:

Electrifying: The terrifying moment a jet was struck by lightning on approach to Heathrow
By Simon Neville
Last updated at 9:02 AM on 12th May 2011

It was an awesome example of nature’s power on a stormy night in London.
As this flight came into Heathrow, a jagged bolt of lightning smashed into the roof, right above the pilots’ heads.
The powerful jolt of electricity passed right through the body of the Airbus A380 before shooting out to continue its journey to the ground.
Amazingly, the Emirates service from Dubai landed safely minutes later, with not even a scratch and its 500 passengers and crew unscathed.

This incredible image was captured on a Saturday night last month by photographer Chris Dawson in south-west London.
‘I saw the storm clouds gathering and I thought the conditions would be perfect for a lightning strike,’ he said.

David Learmount, operations and safety editor of website Flightglobal, is not surprised the Airbus A380, the world’s biggest commercial plane, escaped damage.
‘Planes get hit by lightning several times a year,’ he said. ‘They act as a conductor. Getting a good strike like this can look very dramatic but it might not make any impact.
‘Manufacturers must make aircraft capable of withstanding a lightning strike and protecting those inside.
‘It means the plane’s body must contain metal so it can act as a conductor, allowing the electricity to pass through it.
‘If it didn’t have the metal, the plane could explode when hit.’

[video - only 4 sec!]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1M7qHNdOc
 
Lightning strikes 77 army cadets on Mississippi military base
A lightning strike at a southern Mississippi military base injured a troop of cadets, with 77 of them sent to hospital.
1:32AM BST 09 Jun 2011

The cadets, enrolled in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg were admitted after a bolt struck during a severe thunderstorm.
Two cadets were transported by ambulance and the rest by bus.

All were "very responsive and in stable condition," said Mississippi Army National Guard Major Deidre Musgrave.
She said they were taken to the hospital for precautionary evaluation.

The cadets are stationed for two weeks at Camp Shelby, where a simulated forward operating base prepares them for the conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Major Musgrave said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -base.html
 
China: Bullet trains collide in Zhejiang province

At least 16 people have died and 100 more are hurt after two high-speed trains crashed into each other in eastern China, state media reports.
Two train coaches fell off a bridge after derailing close to Wenzhou in Zhejiang province.
Details are sketchy but Chinese media report that one of the trains came to a halt after being struck by lightning and was then hit by the second train.

Rescue workers are at the scene, near Shuangyu town in Wenzhou.
It is not known how many people were on the trains at the time, but Xinhua news agency says each carriage can carry 100 people.
Initial reports suggested one bullet train had derailed at about 2030 (1230 GMT) - the D3115 travelling from the provincial capital Hangzhou to Wenzhou.

But local television later said the first train had been forced to stop after losing power due to a lightning strike, and was then rear-ended by another train, causing two of its carriages to fall off the bridge.

"D" trains are the first generation of bullet trains in China, with an average speed of just short of 100mph (160km/h).

China is spending billions on constructing a high-speed rail network.
Last month China inaugurated its Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail link.
The 300 km/h (190mph) train halves the journey time to under five hours.

China is planning to roll out high-speed lines across the country.
But the project has come under fire for its high cost - the Beijing-Shanghai line cost 215bn yuan ($33bn; £21bn).
The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says there are also fears corruption has compromised safety in the network's construction.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14262276
 
Dog helps lightning strike Redruth mayor

A Cornish mayor who was struck by lightning has hailed his pet dog who led him back to his house so he could raise the alarm.
Ian Thomas was on his way to feed animals while holding a metal bowl when he was struck, thrown into the air and left unconscious.
After he woke up, he grabbed hold of his schnauzer, Monty, who led him home.

Doctors said the mayor of Redruth would have died if he had not been wearing Wellington boots which insulated him.
Mr Thomas, 64, had been on his daily visit to feed chickens, goats and a donkey near his home in Wheal Mary at about 06:45 BST on 17 October when he was struck.
He said: "My body was flying up in the air, not falling forward.
"I was seeing the sky with my feet in front of me and the ground below."

He fell unconscious for up to 20 minutes and when he woke up, grabbed hold of the eight-stone dog who helped guide him the 100 yards back to his house.
He added: "I use the dog quite often as a prop or walking stick when I am out of breath. I say to him: 'Help me, help me', and he comes to heel.
"There he was, God bless him. I was able to use him to drag myself up and back to the house."

Mr Thomas spent four days in the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske and still has marks on his head and his hip.
Doctors were initially unsure what had happened to him but, after an MRI scan and an electrocardiogram, he was diagnosed as having been struck by lightning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-15480264
 
Huge scrapyard tech could hurl giant lightning bolts
17:42 21 November 2011 by Hazel Muir

[Video: Giant Tesla tower spawns big bolts]

For years, San Francisco-based electrical engineer Greg Leyh has harboured ambitious plans to build the biggest lightning generator in the world. When New Scientist talked to him in 2006, he was planning to construct two giant Tesla coils that would launch electric arcs crackling across a space the size of a football stadium at an estimated cost of $8.9 million.

Leyh's hope of funding that project faded when the recession hit. Now he's trying crowdsourcing to get it up and running within two years. He is seeking donations for the Lightning Foundry, an equally impressive but lower-budget version costing about $350,000. New Scientist asked him about his plans.

What is the Lightning Foundry?
It's a project to create super-long electrical discharges like lightning. Two 10-storey-high Tesla coil towers will fill an area the size of a football field with lightning-like discharges hundreds of feet long. We'll possibly site it in Nevada, although that hasn't been decided yet.

What will visitors see at demonstrations?
As the machine ramps up, it'll start sounding like a chainsaw and you'll see electrical streamers increasing in length. When they're long enough to reach from one tower to the other, you'll have an area hundreds of feet wide filled with electrical discharges jumping around. Hopefully we'll have enough funding to get some extra props to zap – one thing I'd like to do is recreate Franklin's kite experiment.

Will it be safe?
We'll have to test it first to make sure. If the coils trigger a runaway breakdown of the air, they could generate wild arcs – that's something we have to know very precisely before we show it to an audience. We're breaking new ground here so we have to approach it carefully.

What scientific question will the project answer?
Lightning can break down air up to five times more easily than normal electric arcs [between two oppositely charged rods in the lab], using tricks we don't yet understand. However, recent theories and a few tantalising experimental results suggest that normal arcs start to gain lightning-like abilities once they grow past about 60 metres in length. If we can build a machine this large, we'll very quickly arrive at a better understanding of what's going on.

How can you do this on a low budget?
Rather than being a purpose-built, conservatively designed facility like the original concept, the Lightning Foundry is literally designed around "obtainium" – used materials, scrap and salvaged equipment like generators and transformers. So many companies have folded, and a lot of their equipment ends up in scrapyards. There's a lot of incredible obtainium out there these days.

What will your backers get in return?
There is a range of rewards. Pledge $75 or more and you'll get two tickets to a public performance. Other reward packages include electrical discharge sculptures [an electrically zapped piece of acrylic with a branching structure showing the path of the discharge] and the chance to personally throw 8-metre arcs at any item you wish to bring along.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2 ... bolts.html

Should give Gif a thrill, anyway!
;)
 
Lightning kills an entire football team
Marcus Tanner Thursday 29 October 1998

FOOTBALL FANS in the central African state of Congo were hurling accusations of witchcraft at each other yesterday after a freak blast of lightning struck dead an entire team on the playing field while their opponents were left completely untouched.
The bizarre blow by the weather to all 11 members of the football team was reported in the daily newspaper L'Avenir in Kinshasa, the capital of Congo.

"Lightning killed at a stroke 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years during a football match," the newspaper reported . It went on to say that 30 other people had received burns at the weekend match, held in the eastern province of Kasai. "The athletes from Basanga [the home team] curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed."

The suspicion that the black arts might be involved arose firstly because the opposing team emerged unharmed and then again because the score at the time was a delicately balanced one all.

"The exact nature of the lightning has divided the population in this region which is known for its use of fetishes in football," the newspaper commented.

Much of the detail about the match remains obscure as the Congo - officially known as the Democratic Republic of Congo - remains stricken by civil war between the government of Laurent Kabila and rebel forces, backed by neighbouring Rwanda, in the east of the country.

Witchcraft is often blamed for adverse natural phenomena throughout western and central Africa. It is relatively frequent for football teams to hire witchdoctors to place hexes on their opponents.

In a similar, though less deadly incident in South Africa over the weekend, six players from a local team were hurt when lightning struck the playing field during a thunderstorm.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/light ... 81336.html
 
A bricklayer was killed on a building site in Cheshire last week - Brickie killed by lightning during tea break

A terrible thing to happen. He seems to have been a nice hardworking bloke.

This happened a few miles away from where I was also drinking tea on a building site. :shock:

That morning, thunder had been forecast for the area but I'd been out all morning and hadn't heard any.

My mother lives in sheltered housing which is being extended into a huge complex. I visited her and we had a cup of tea.

I stepped outside to admire the progress of the new build, and we heard a long, loud roll of thunder - just the one. I thought, ooer, a building site in a thunderstorm, NOT the best place to be! and popped back inside.

Didn't see any lightning, but I'm wondering if that was the very moment of the strike that killed poor Mr Feber. Brr.
 
Lightning strike disrupts trains out in and out of London

Main line trains out of London travelling to the South East have been disrupted by lightning strikes, with delays of 90 minutes being reported.
Network Rail said the lightning hit a power substation near Battersea causing major problems for signalling.

A spokesman for the rail operator said it was "not looking good" for getting the problem sorted soon.
Currently trains operating out of Victoria, Charing Cross and London Bridge have been affected.
Southern and Gatwick Express services from Victoria and South West Trains from Waterloo have also been impacted by the weather.

The lightning strike hit and damaged some signalling equipment on the approach to Victoria railway station at about 17:30 BST, according to Network Rail.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17777918
 
Lightning in India's West Bengal kills nine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17890800

Nine people have been killed and 15 others injured from lightning striking a temple in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, police say.

The incident happened when a group of people took shelter in the temple during torrential rains in the Udaynarayanpur area of Howrah district on Sunday.

They were returning home after the end of a religious festival.

Some of the injured are in a critical condition, reports say.
 
There was more train disruption out of Hertfordshire due to lightening strikes last night but I don't think the network was too badly affected this time. The thunder woke me up though. :evil:
 
Polish hikers killed by lightning in Pieniny mountains
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19028868

A storm punctuated by repeated lightning strikes hit the area where the four hikers were last seen

Four people hiking in mountains in southern Poland were killed by lightning, Polish media report.

The four, a couple in their 50s, their daughter and her boyfriend were last seen on Wednesday when they went off the trail in search of shelter from a violent storm.

Their bodies were found on Friday at the bottom of a ravine in the Pieniny mountains, near the Slovak border.

The Polish authorities will investigate the exact cause of death.

"It is extremely rare for a single bolt of lightning to kill four people," mountain rescue official Mariusz Zarod told the Reuters news agency.
 
Kayaker Keith Kirkum died after being hit by lightning, partner says
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-19288553

Keith Kirkum took up kayaking about six months ago

Related Stories

Missing sea kayaker found dead

A kayaker died from a heart attack off the Essex coast after being struck by lightning, his partner said.

The body of Keith Kirkum, 59, of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, was found on a beach in Bradwell on 7 August.

It was initially thought Mr Kirkum drowned but post-mortem tests suggested he had been hit by lightning. An inquest has been opened and adjourned.

His partner, Charlotte Kelly, 61, said: "He loved nature and the elements. It's an unfortunate irony."

'Seismic shift'
Ms Kelly said the cause of death had been a huge surprise.

"It was a seismic shift for us because we all thought he had got into difficulties and drowned," she said.

"The post mortem revealed Keith died as a result of a cardiac arrest brought about by electrocution.

"The electrocution in question was from being struck by lightning.

"But all the early reports suggested that it was drowning. We all thought that."

Mr Kirkum, who took up kayaking about six months ago, parked his car close to a beach in Bradwell.

The alarm was raised in the early hours of 7 August after he failed to return home.

Ms Kelly, who worked with Mr Kirkum at her book sales agency, said: "He had a great respect for Mother Nature."
 
Schoolboy struck by lightning in Swindon

A boy has been struck by lightning leaving him in a "serious but stable condition" in a Wiltshire hospital.
The 11-year-old, who is believed to be a pupil at the Dorcan Academy in Swindon, was injured shortly after 15:00 BST.

He received first aid from school staff after going into cardiac arrest before paramedics arrived.
The boy was taken to the town's Great Western Hospital and later transferred to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
At 19:45 BST, a Great Western Hospital spokesman described the boy's condition as "serious but stable".

A spokesman for the ambulance service said that when paramedics arrived, first aiders were giving the pupil CPR.
"We had a paramedic in a rapid response vehicle on scene at 3:16pm and an ambulance crew a couple of minutes later," the spokesman said.
"In the meantime, while we were en route, we understand the better-trained first aiders from the school were providing CPR because the patient had... gone into cardiac arrest.

"Our paramedics took over treatment when they arrived on scene. They got a heartbeat and him breathing for himself again on scene.
"We took him straight to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon and he arrived there at 3:34pm.
"In terms of our response he was in hospital conscious and breathing again within 24 minutes.

"The quick response from school staff and paramedics gave him the best chance of survival."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-19731189
 
Poor little sod: struck by lightning, cardiac arrest.. and even after recovery he'll still live in Swindon.
Auntie Beeb said:
..The boy was taken to the town's Great Western Hospital and later transferred to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
If he's any sense he'll apply for asylum.
 
rynner2 said:
Schoolboy struck by lightning in Swindon

A boy has been struck by lightning leaving him in a "serious but stable condition" in a Wiltshire hospital.
The 11-year-old, who is believed to be a pupil at the Dorcan Academy in Swindon, was injured shortly after 15:00 BST.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-19731189
Joe Compton back home after lightning strike

An 11-year-old boy who was hit by lightning has said he remembers "hardly anything" about the incident.
Joe Compton was struck near Dorcan Academy in Swindon in September and received first aid from leisure centre staff before being taken to hospital.
He was released from Frenchay Hospital near Bristol last week.
Joe's mother, Emma Dean, said: "He's lucky to be alive - if it weren't for the staff at that leisure centre he probably wouldn't be here today."

It was early afternoon on 26 September when Joe, who was waiting with a friend outside the school, was hit by a bolt of lightning.
"I was waiting for my friend to ring his mum and then I was struck by lightning - he [the friend] turned round and I was lying on the floor," Joe said.

As he went into cardiac arrest, staff at a nearby leisure centre rushed out to offer first aid before paramedics arrived.
Ms Dean said: "My dad rang me and said 'Joe's in the hospital, he's been hit by lightning'.
"When he told me I didn't believe it, I thought he was lying, it's not something you believe is it?"

Suffering from burst ear drums and severe burns, Joe was taken to Great Western Hospital in Swindon and later transferred to a specialist burns unit at Bristol's Frenchay Hospital.
Ms Dean said: "When you hear stories of people getting hit by lightning, they don't survive, and every day I wished I could take the pain and everything away from him.
"But because of what happened and the state that he was in, I was told to think the worst, but he surprised the doctors." :D

Joe's uncle, Shane Dean, remembers seeing his nephew at Frenchay Hospital after the incident.
"I was in there for about two minutes - he was sat up, his bandages were two inches thick all the way around and he was absolutely screaming," he said.
"He can't remember that pain but we all can - and to see him now is just unbelievable."

Joe barely remembers anything about his ordeal, and Mr Dean believes he is suffering from "selective memory".
He said: "He was laid in his bed and we didn't think he could hear us but my younger sister said 'if you pull through Joe - there'll be a PS3 waiting at home for you'.
"And when he did come round he was like, 'where's my PS3 then?'" 8)

Now known as Lightning Bolt Joe on his PlayStation 3, his mother said it was a case of "getting him back to normality".
"He had skin grafts two weeks ago - they've started to heal...so hopefully he can go along with his normal life just having eye tests, ear tests and checks on his heart," she said.
"But he's pulled through and that's the main thing now."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20171947
 
Pillaton Church hit by lightning suffers 'huge hole'
[video]

A church has been left with a "huge hole" after being struck by lightning in Cornwall.
Pillaton Church was hit on Monday evening during a "tremendous thunderstorm", bell ringing captain Richard Warwick said.

Severe weather has affected many parts of the county, with drivers reporting treacherous ice on roads.
A number of schools were closed because many roads and pavements had been considered too dangerous.

Mr Warwick said Pillaton residents had been "shaken from their beds" during Monday's storm, which caused "pretty major structural damage" to the Grade I-listed St Odulph church.
"One of the four pinnacles on the roof, which weigh several tonnes, has exploded and the main part of it has made a huge gaping hole in the body of the main church," he said.
"We don't know about the bells yet because we're not allowed up there to take a look.
"The main tower looks all right but we've just had them re-furnished for £50,000, so it's a bit of a worry."

Bell-ringer and church keyholder David Shawcross said it was a scene of "utter devastation" and "looked like a bomb had gone off."
Church warden Richard Lowther said everything in the church had been affected, including the roof, pews and other furnishings.
He said: "We won't be able to hold services until ... I don't know how long.
"We estimate the damage will be in excess of £500,000, at a very minimum, to repair."

He said the first work to be carried out would be to prevent water getting into the building and causing further damage.

...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-21137829
 
Lightning may cause headaches
Lightning could cause headaches and migraines, according to researchers who found that people are 25 per cent more likely to develop symptoms on the day of a strike.
By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent
2:30PM GMT 24 Jan 2013

On days when lightning bolts appeared, cases of headaches and migraines increased by 24 per cent and 23 per cent respectively among healthy people who lived within a 25 mile (40km) radius, according to a new study.
The figures among chronic sufferers were even more severe, with incidences of headache increasing by 31 per cent and of migraine by 28 per cent.

Electromagnetic waves could be responsible for triggering headaches, they suggested, while lightning also increases air pollutants like ozone and can cause release of fungal spores which may result in migraines, researchers suggested.

Prof Vincent Martin of the University of Cincinnati and his son Geoffrey, a medical student, asked volunteers to keep a daily diary of headaches and migraines for three to six months, and compared the incidence rate against weather conditions for each day.

Various meteorological conditions involved in stormy weather, such as barometric pressure and humidity, have been shown to influence the likelihood of headaches.
But even after taking these into account the study found lightning itself had a significant effect.

Prof Martin explained: "We used mathematical models to determine if the lightning itself was the cause of the increased frequency of headaches or whether it could be attributed to other weather factors encountered with thunderstorms.
"Our results found a 19 per cent increased risk for headaches on lightning days, even after accounting for these weather factors. This suggests that lightning has its own unique effect on headache."

The results, published in the Cephalalgia journal, showed that negatively charged lightning currents in particular were linked to a higher number of headaches.
Prof Martin said: "The exact mechanisms through which lightning and/or its associated meteorologic factors trigger headache are unknown, although we do have speculations.
"Ultimately, the effect of weather on headache is complex, and future studies will be needed to define more precisely the role of lightning and thunderstorms on headache."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/scie ... aches.html

The photo that accompanies the article shows Portland harbour and Chesil Beach at night - I think it's been linked to before.
EDIT: yes, it was in the Daily Mail, a couple of years ago:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewt ... 03#1096603

(But the DM has since corrected the caption!)
 
Can't be much fun getting struck by lightning - but those scars are actually rather beautiful. (Better than many tattoos I've seen recently ;) )
 
OneWingedBird said:
I think they're really beautiful! :D

Don't go getting any ideas, now! :)
 
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