lightning VS tree

[Garrabo]

kissed it good. I jumped out of bed when it happened since its 30 feet from the house. Yee, Haw.

 

[Michael_E_Tx]

Know what kind of tree that is? Our place has mixed hardwoods and we get a fair number of lightning strikes, but they never seem to splinter like that. The most recent was a sweet gum,14-16" in diameter, snapped it right off about 15' up. That must have caught your attention being 30' away. We will hear a lightning strike but then have to go look for it.

Mike

 

[jimg]

At least its split up and all you need to do is cut it into pieces.

My dad had a large yellow poplar in his yard very close to the house that got sliced and diced by a lightening strike. I think he jumped too. YeeeHaw is right! After that he had all the trees cut from around the house as he was very concerned big limbs might fall across it (the house) eventually.

 

[Garrabo]

It was a tulip poplar that was hit. I had a tree service come in and remove it along with 3 others.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Boy, it sure did a job on that tree.

 

[jinman]

I had an oak hit about two years ago and it caused the trunk to explode. The top of the tree just dropped straight down. The bark separated from the trunk and I found pieces of tree and bark between 75-100 ft away in all directions. The very center of the tree had some slight discoloration, but I was amazed there was no burned smell.

 

[Youare]

I had a large white pine 52 inches DBH that 20 feet up grew three tops which were each 16 to 18 inches in diameter. This tree was with in 50 feet of the house. Don't know why the guy who built the house left it there.

While we were away one Saturday night lightening hit one of the tops about 30 feet off the ground. The blast exploded the tree at this point and threw the top at the house. As it fell some of the branches grazed the roof taking one shingle and crunching the drip edge a little. It was only the grace of God that kept the top from spearing the roof of the house.

The lightening continued on down the trunk of the tree to the metal roof of the wood shed I had between the house and the tree. I had been stacking wood in the shed Friday night and I had a drop light hanging from a nial just under the metal roof which was plugged into an outside outlet on the house.

Before leaving on Saturday I unplugged the light and left the cord laying on the ground. The lightening jumped to the roof and to the metal cage on the drop light blowing up the bulb and blowing out one wire of the cord in at least a dozen places. The plug was blown right off the end of the cord and the foundation of the house had a big chunk missing from the corner.

I was glad we were not home at the time as I may not have unplugged the light and the sound would have been more than the blatter could have stood.

Randy

 

[Cottonhawk]

#6,#7...
We don't have powerful lightenings like what you've described in Texas and NH, and I am glad that we don't.

 

[Garrabo]

Here latley we have had some serious lightning hits around the house. I will not go out side when it is lightning, I refuse. The tree I posted did have a streak all the way to the base. I remember when I was about 14 I was riding my bicycle in my old neighborhood when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit a massive oak tree up to my direct left about 50 feet away. The tree blew up like a bomb hit it and spikes of wood like spears flew right at me all around me but never hit me and stuck in the dirt bank like spears off to my right side. That freaked me out. I have respect for lightning.

 

[midlf]

Jinman - no burning because the damage was all from steam.

 

[jinman]

Jinman - no burning because the damage was all from steam.

Yep, I think you are right. Here are a couple of pictures that shows how the tree exploded in all directions.