Don: Thanks for the info.. Yeah, our local weatherman says this 1000 times a
season.. "If you can hear the thunder, you are close enough to get struck by
the lightening that caused it".. He says you can get struck up to 15 MILES
away from the storm.. I think the rod in the ground is a good idea.. And,
from now on, if I'm in the boat, I told My wife I'd lay down and let HER
stand up LOL... J/K... We lose several folks a year here too.. And like ya
said, it hunts the path of least resistance, which is how My Momma died of
electrocution.. Her wet feet and her touching the TV antenna hookup (LONG
story but the TV had been in a motel fire and dried for three weeks but was
still damp on the inside) and the electricity used Momma's body as a path...
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "DonO" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 8:59 AM
Subject: Re: [VFB] Boating Safety Question
Chuck,
I sent this yesterday and it bounced.
Understanding lightning helps one onderstand when he/she is at risk. We
lose a few folks to lightning every year in Wyoming- more because they do
the wrong thing rather than nothing at all. There are a lot of news
reports
on TCV to help people avoid getting struck.
Lightning is an arc that's looking for the path of least resistance to
ground. Thus, it looks for a conductor that offers less resistance than
air. Points of polarity change rapidly within storm clouds, and so a
discharge can happen anywhere and over long distances. So even if you
think
the lightning is a long way off, you still are at risk. I've seen
lightning
bolts strike horizontally many miles to a lightning rod on a transmission
line because that was the path of least resistance.
We get many strikes here in Wyoming right to the prairie ground, as
there's
nothing taller around than sage brush for miles and miles, and these
strikes
start lots of prairie fires. So if you were out on that prairie, you'd be
the tallest thing, and probably get struck. I have a friend that told me
when he gets caught out like that in a lightning storm, he stabs the butt
of
his rod into the dirt, sticking it straight up, and then walks away and
lies
low. He calls it his sacrificial rod. I drew a cartoon for a local paper
about this subject- was funny, but serious also.
SO if you can't avoid being out in a thunderstorm, find a place where
you're
the most confident that you are not the tallest thing or standing next to
the tallest thing. A tree has resistance, but you have less resistance
and
if you are standing next to it, the arc can (and will) jump from the tree
and finish through you. Like I said, it's looking to discharge through
the
path of least resistance, and trees and people have lots of water, which
offers less resistance than air. Actually, we make great conductors.
It's
that bit of carbon resistance that creates the heat that gives us
problems.
Dr. Demento may have been born from a lightning strike, but we can't
remember.
If you are out on a lake and don't beat the storm home, well, that's why
they say by all means beat the storm home.
And your rod is definitely a conductor, so lay it as low as you can. Even
though the arc may not pass directly through a person, close proximity can
allow a portion of the arc to pass through, resulting in injury or worse.
DonO
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.2/893 - Release Date: 7/9/2007
5:22 PM
