Lightning damage?

RayP(MI) · Oct 8, 2014

Checking on neighbor's place the other day. Noticed a spot on the side of his steel sided polebarn, about the side of a penny. Close inspection - looks like lightning hit one nail on side of barn. Nail head missing and shank burned. Hole enlarged to about twice the size of the shank of nail. Inside, there is some staining on the purlin, like someone spilled coffee on it, and smoke marks on inside of siding. Romax cables on purlin untouched. All electrical in the building appears intact.

I've been involved with electrical for a long time. 40 years as a ham radio operator, well grounded (no pun intended) in AC and DC theory... Even taught electrical and electronics on the university level. I have decided lightning makes it's own rules. Why pick on a nail on the side of a steel building, when there's all that metal all around? Weird, huh?

RayP(MI) · Oct 8, 2014

Looks like it didn't want to post the second picture:

JMOR · Oct 8, 2014

Yes, it does make its own rules. Some 'whys' that I have observed: why strike a lower tree when there is a taller one 10 feet away? Why strike a near equal height tree when there is a pole, wires, transformer 10 feet away? On & on.......

Trkr · Oct 8, 2014

My house was hit by lightening about 6 months ago.The Direct TV dish seemed to be hit the worst.The cables from it were blown apart about every 12 inches all the way to the TV.TV was OK but direct TV box was toast.Also took out the landline telephone wiring,and blew up the circuitry in our one year old heat pump.Also tripped almost every breaker.Could have been worse.

Billy NY · Oct 8, 2014

Spring of 2011, say mid week, week of 4-27-11, some system came through, 1:30 am, not a real electrical storm, like in the summer, really strange, one-of, as I heard just this one, was really loud too. Lightening had struck an old poplar tree near the wetland, 200 yds from my house, and it connected through a small branch, literally, then it blew thick chards of wood 30' down the trunk, out over 100 feet into a nearby field, I have some of the pieces, photos too, the thing that got me is that little branch where it connected, makes no logical sense, but thats where the connection was, looks like nothing there, just below it blasted out all that wood and there was no sign of fire or burnt wood at all, it does make its own rules for sure !

Allan in NE · Oct 8, 2014

Yep,

Ya ought to see what it does to cows......the hole is a little larger.

Allan

JMOR · Oct 8, 2014

(quoted from post at 13:47:20 10/08/14) Yep,

Ya ought to see what it does to cows......the hole is a little larger.

Allan

o they exhibit a steam explosion as do some trees?

1130Leo · Oct 8, 2014

Wow! Looks like he was very lucky there is still a barn!

RayP(MI) · Oct 8, 2014

Definitely yes - if there's enough moisture in the
wood at the time.

JMOR · Oct 8, 2014

Yes, I have observed in many trees, but I was asking of cows exhibit the steam explosion phenomenon too?

Fergienewbee · Oct 8, 2014

Ray P;

Make sure you hit "continue" after posting your pictures--even your last one. Works for me.

Larry

Ford and Gravely · Oct 8, 2014

Simple. Uninsulated and protruding. Plus moist and saline path through wood to ground. Path of least resistance.

stevob671 · Oct 8, 2014

Lightning does what it wants to do! My house got hit back in '83. More or less burnt the roof off. Burnt cords off of appliances, controller out of well pump box. In the garage the romex had holes through the outer jacket here and there and you could see bare copper through the inner insulation. Insurance guy said electrician could do continuity check on wiring to determine what bad and what good. I said that wire will check out fine right now- but you could see inner wires not touching each other...now. Does he want to come out when they do touch and cause a fire later? Quicker and easier, just rip it all out and put in new!

Geo-TH,In · Oct 8, 2014

There is always much to do about grounding on YT so I have to ask, was the barn grounded? Do you think if it was grounded would it really have mattered, because lightning does what it wants to do?

GordoSD · Oct 8, 2014

No explosion from horses or cows.

JMOR · Oct 8, 2014

(quoted from post at 16:41:55 10/08/14) No explosion from horses or cows.

guess because skin/meat more pliable than wood/bark. Both high percentage of water to be heated to steam.

D beatty · Oct 8, 2014

We have beem hit several times.The one time it hit the 40 foot tv tower and took antenna, wire and plastic conduit along with tv.I was picking up plastic conduit all over yard. It blew the wire and conduit off tv tower and blew the 60 feet of under ground from tower to house.

D beatty · Oct 8, 2014

We lost 14 heat of young heifers that were on summer pasture from lightning.It did no visable damage to them it just killed them. They were laying on top of a hill in the middle of pasture.

Ivan in Mich · Oct 8, 2014

We had an underground fence system and it was hit by lightening. The control box was in my pole barm that had been wired that year. It blew the control box up and all I ever found of it was the cord. Every plug in the wire had burn marks on it. Anyplace the wire was within a 1/2 of the steel side it came out threw the wire and burnt a hole in the steel on the sides. It went into the breaker box and welded all the breakers up. Insurance had to replace all the electrical in the barn and the steel on the outside of the barn. The funny part was the underground wire was gone out of the insulation covering the wire but the plastic did not melt. This barn has been hit 3 times now

dgasper · Oct 8, 2014

When I was a kid we had a couple heifers killed by lightning. They were near a barb wire fence, on their backs with their legs straight up in the air.

Allan in NE · Oct 8, 2014

Yep, every time.

Allan

huntingreen2day2 · Oct 8, 2014

In a building I worked in with a flat rubber roof I found a spot were it hit the roof and blew a hole in the rubber membrane. 1.2 million under roof and it picked that one spot.

Lightning damage?

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