Do you live in an area with lots of thunder and lightning storms? Do you have a lightning rod? How are your house and barn protected, or do they just not get hit?
We get tons of lightning storms in the summer, and I do have a lightning rod on my barn, required by local code when it was built. I don’t think the barn’s ever been hit, though. I’ll be honest with you…sometimes when I’m scurrying out there in a storm I’m very nervous. There’s not one on the house.
We get some doozy storms in CT in the summer, and I had a house in the middle of a hay field which had been built in the fourties. It had a lightning rod on every corner of the roof, and the four corners of the separate garage. Somebody who owned it (an old man, story went) must have been hit, before and went a little overboard with the lightning rods. Don’t know the science behind rods, but I thought only one was necessary. Something made him put up seven or eight of them, though!
I’m on the Gulf Coast and get thunderstorms almost daily, a lot with spectacular lightning. I do not have a rod on either barn or house, and to be honest, I’m not sure about the local/state requirements, if any.
I did have a t-post in my pasture get struck last year, maybe 200’ from the house. It was straight one day, bent the next.
But we’re surrounded by giant evergreens that are what get hit routinely. I fear more about those around the house getting hit than the house/barn. The sap in those would cause the entire thing to explode.
Slightly OT, but I recently heard a nerd on NPR aver that lightning can strike sideways, and originate from adjacent storms as much as 10 miles distant. His rule of thumb was that if you can so much as hear a thunder rumble, you can get zapped, so get yourself into the nearest cave pronto.
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I took these outside my back door several years ago. The storms here are incredible sometimes! I saw lightning hit the tree in our front field as I was coming out to feed- I turned right around and went back in! It also destroyed the big cedar in another field (we were lucky that day- none of the mares were in that field. They typically hide under that tree when it rained.) And I was in the stallion barn when I saw it hit the house across the street- 100 yards away. It didn’t catch fire then, but two weeks later the whole roof and part of the garage burned! I think it just smoldered for a while.
[QUOTE=Field of Dreams Mini Horses;7735504]
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http://www.fieldofdreamsminihorses.com/superbolt1.JPG
I took these outside my back door several years ago. The storms here are incredible sometimes! I saw lightning hit the tree in our front field as I was coming out to feed- I turned right around and went back in! It also destroyed the big cedar in another field (we were lucky that day- none of the mares were in that field. They typically hide under that tree when it rained.) And I was in the stallion barn when I saw it hit the house across the street- 100 yards away. It didn’t catch fire then, but two weeks later the whole roof and part of the garage burned! I think it just smoldered for a while.[/QUOTE]
Amazing photos. I assume you took them? I wonder if the lightning damaged some of the electrical wiring in that house which may have then caused the fire?
My new farmette-to-be is about 1,000 feet higher than where I currently live and is on one of the higher points in the area. I’ve noticed lately that a lot of the heavy storms seem to hang around in that area and I have started to worry about building a house or barn on that high point of land. The building site is not on the highest point, but like I say, the whole lot is generally higher than surrounding areas and I have suddenly started to worry about lightning hitting buildings, horses, or even the big water tank I must install. Every now and then a forest fire here is attributed to lightning strikes, but I have never noticed any news about a structure being hit. Then, to complicate matters, I am just sure I read that there is some controversy about the effectiveness of lightning rods… 
[QUOTE=PeteyPie;7734766]
Do you live in an area with lots of thunder and lightning storms? YES - Lightning capitol of the world Do you have a lightning rod? No How are your house and barn protected, or do they just not get hit?[/QUOTE]
House and barn - we are VERY near a TV tower - and that gets hit by lightening. I believe, as the highest thing around - that it acts as a lightening rod.
[QUOTE=Valentina_32926;7736093]
I believe, as the highest thing around - that it acts as a lightening rod.[/QUOTE]
it is the object low-resistance path to earth ground … wet tall tree… steel tower… pipe and cable fence… chain link fence
[QUOTE=PeteyPie;7736020]
Amazing photos. I assume you took them? I wonder if the lightning damaged some of the electrical wiring in that house which may have then caused the fire?
My new farmette-to-be is about 1,000 feet higher than where I currently live and is on one of the higher points in the area. I’ve noticed lately that a lot of the heavy storms seem to hang around in that area and I have started to worry about building a house or barn on that high point of land. The building site is not on the highest point, but like I say, the whole lot is generally higher than surrounding areas and I have suddenly started to worry about lightning hitting buildings, horses, or even the big water tank I must install. Every now and then a forest fire here is attributed to lightning strikes, but I have never noticed any news about a structure being hit. Then, to complicate matters, I am just sure I read that there is some controversy about the effectiveness of lightning rods… [/QUOTE]
Yes, I took them. Canon Rebel XTi. On “bulb” setting and on a tripod. Zoom lens. The lightning was amazing! I must have taken 100+ pix and almost all had some sort of bolt in it. And it was constant- no waiting. Never seen anything else like it.
That’s what I’m thinking on the house. We really don’t talk to these neighbors so I don’t know what the fire marshall said.
[QUOTE=The Crone of Cottonmouth County;7735314]
Slightly OT, but I recently heard a nerd on NPR aver that lightning can strike sideways, and originate from adjacent storms as much as 10 miles distant. His rule of thumb was that if you can so much as hear a thunder rumble, you can get zapped, so get yourself into the nearest cave pronto.[/QUOTE]
Yes. I wrote an article on Lightening several years ago. I e-mailed questions to a guy from NOAA. It can get you if the storm is 10 miles away even if the sun is shining where you are. I asked him questions about rumors I had heard for years. It doesn’t matter if you are wearing rubber shoes or if your horse has metal shoes on or not. If it hits you it hits you. If you have metal on your body, the metal can cause burns but that is nothing compared what the lightening will do. You are safer in a building or vehicle and your horse is safer in a barn or in your trailer if you are at a show.
Horses and cattle are struck every year. A friend lost a horse when lightening hit a tree which then fell on the horses.
I had a horse “knocked down” by lightening. I heard it in the middle of the night in what seemed to be the opposite direction of this paddock but when I brought the two horses in in the morning, one was very wobbly and uncoordinated. I called the vet and that is what she thought. Lots of TTouch and ground pole exercises with a body wrap and he recovered just fine.
I have lightening rods on everything but the new shed which will get them soon!
I got hit by indirect lightning 2 months ago AFTER a bad storm rolled through 20 minutes before and the sky was clear. I am very lucky to be alive and am grateful I am. Three weeks ago our power line was hit which caused a surge to hit the house and take out the PC, Playstation 3, printer, DirectTV Genie, and our large TV. Surge protectors do not help as everything listed above are on them and the Playstation and printer were not even powered on. We are currently slated to get rods installed on our house roof and barn roofs, as well as have the surge plan our power company offers, put into effect.
[QUOTE=ponygirl;7739275]
I got hit by indirect lightning (ESP) 2 months ago AFTER a bad storm rolled through 20 minutes before and the sky was clear. I am very lucky to be alive and am grateful I am. Three weeks ago our power line was hit which caused a surge to hit the house and take out the PC, Playstation 3, printer, DirectTV Genie, and our large TV. Surge protectors do not help as everything listed above are on them and the Playstation and printer were not even powered on. We are currently slated to get rods installed on our house roof and barn roofs, as well as have the surge plan our power company offers, put into effect.[/QUOTE]
What is ESP?
Aside: when I clicked on the “Reply With Quote” your whole quote was copied except for “(ESP).” I had to type it back in. Weird, huh? Someone else try it and see if that happens – OR does anyone know why that happened?
About a month ago I was standing in our barn and either it was hit directly or it was hit right next to it. I saw a blue streak of light go through the tackroom and the electric fence charger exploded.
It had been raining for awhile but I had only heard a tiny bit of thunder before the strike.
I was very glad to be in the barn – which has as lightning rod – and it gave me new respect for the dangers of being out in a storm.
A little bit of a hijack-
Anyone have any thoughts as to how do rubber stall mats come into play, if at all? My barn is flanked on opposite corners by two tall trees, and I do have some concerns about the trees getting struck and horses getting indirectly hit through ground lightening. However, their stalls are all rubber mats, so unless they’re touching the walls, would they be “safe” from electricity moving across the ground?
Its EMP, hence my removal of ESP as autocorrect put that in. Lol
Stands for electromagnetic pulse. It fries pacemakers. Thank goodness I don’t have one.
[QUOTE=The Crone of Cottonmouth County;7735314]
Slightly OT, but I recently heard a nerd on NPR aver that lightning can strike sideways, and originate from adjacent storms as much as 10 miles distant. His rule of thumb was that if you can so much as hear a thunder rumble, you can get zapped, so get yourself into the nearest cave pronto.[/QUOTE]
When we lived in East Texas the adage about thunderstorms was, “If you can hear it, fear it.” I know there was a case of a man being killed weed-eating on what seemed to be a beautiful blue-sky day. Bolt came of out nowhere - maybe one of the sideways ones.
It can strike twice. One of our pine trees was hit at least twice during different storms. But, we don’t have to worry anymore since the tornado came through in. 2011. :-/
All horses ihn the barns I have boarded at have been hurridly brought in during T storms, or if the sky is making up for one that afternoon. Too many horses hit and killed, and they are safe in the barns because the barns are grounded with lightning rods. One time, brough the horses in, some in cross ties, a bolt hit the metal roof barn and rolled down the roof, you could hear it like a boulder, and dropped down the grounding wire along the corner of the barn. Always ground your barns. Can save lives.
[QUOTE=The Crone of Cottonmouth County;7735314]
Slightly OT, but I recently heard a nerd on NPR aver that lightning can strike sideways, and originate from adjacent storms as much as 10 miles distant. His rule of thumb was that if you can so much as hear a thunder rumble, you can get zapped, so get yourself into the nearest cave pronto.[/QUOTE]
Lightning CAN strike sideways. It hit our house once blasted a monster sized hole through a bedroom wall. My husband was in that room taking a nap. Little bit more to the right he would have been right in front of this lightning strike.
