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Thunder and Lightening !

doug1944

doug1944

master brummie
Don`t know if this is the right place, but what happened to the old idea`s about thunder and lightening ? My dear wifes granma used to open the front and back doors `to let the thunderbolt through`,turn the mirrors to face the wall, cover the cutlery over, no metal knitting pins, etc. No wonder she`s terrified now !
 
My Mom was the same.She would also open the back door,cover the cutlary, Take her hairgrips out,then grab me "The youngest" And sit in The Cubby Hole until it passed. I am Still scared now.
 
I do remember all those things Doug but my dear old nanny Pem was actually struck by lightennig and mom said her hair singed and her pinny burn't. I still don't like it when I am at home but when on holiday I have sat and watched it out at sea and am not afraid when flying through a storm and watch it through the window. We were told not to sit by the fire as a thunderbolt might come down the chimney and yes the door was open to let it roll out. Jean.
 
My aunts used to disagree about this - one of them covered all metal and was terrified, the other watched it with us and said it was just God moving his furniture around - I must have believed her because I love watching them now!!
Sue
 
our family did all of the above, My Mom used to make us pull all the electric plugs in the house out,That ment no TV for us kids when we had a storm lol :0)
 
The replies, so far, have centred on being inside premises during a thunderstorm. There are many forms of instruction if you are outdoors. I guess there are differing ones, dependant on location in the UK, but I have often heard said that cyclists should dismount as lightening 'could play' on handlebars. There is advice where and how to seek safe place when in an open field - the most well known being thew avoidance of trees or metal structures. Radio/TV antennae, telephone wires and external electrical wiring are another form of lightening attraction.

We have small deposits of iron ore locally and it is said that this deflects lightning away from this part of the area. Having attended some lightening strikes in the area it seems to be partially true. The major storms here occur in the English Channel and over Dartmoor. Storms are known to rotate here and I wonder of this is so in the West Midlands - especially over the high plateau where Birmingham is situated.
 
I remember people used have something attached to the back of their cars to ward off lightening. But listening to something on TV regarding the Japanese disaster it referred to the nuclear plant and the metal it was surrounded with and compared it to a car which I believed it said was untouchable if struck by lightening. But perhaps I misheard.
 
Hello Carolina I think the metal strips that are attached to the back of cars were to dissipate Static electricity built up by friction between the tyres and the road.can you ever remember the old buses when you grabbed hold of the rail to get on the bus sometimes you would get a shock. I can not recall any one ever to be struck by lightening in a car. Dek
 
l was never really scared of lighting or thunder, always knew to never stand under a tree and get indoors....but after experiencing my first thunderstorm in Texas l can really say l was scared l thought the end of the world had come,l was alone in our apartment when it hit and it seemed to go on for hours, l ended up under the bed as the wind was blowing so hard...later l was told a tornado had just missed us...even after all these years l always listen the weather forcast just in case.....l like the night thunderstorms best as it lights up the sky and l always had my children from an early age witness the wonders of nature , even the electric storms we have in the summer are something to behold......Brenda
 
when a boy staying at my nan's in handsworth she would open the windows upstairs, and we would sit under the stairs or table.
 
I posted on Snow Watch in November that we had thunder and lightening with a snow shower "a once in a lifetime experience" our local paper said
 
Hi Dek you are probably right, I just thought it was for lightening. Some used to say milk would go off in a storm
 
I wasn't frightened of storms until a few years ago. I was talking on the phone to my daughter and grandchildren during a storm, and told the little ones not to be afraid as it wouldn't hurt them. When suddenly, a thunderbolt hit the TV aerial, continued to bounce off the metal ties in the wall cavity and finally set fire to my granddaughters bed. All the light fittings exploded and the sockets flew off the walls. The damage caused was amazing, it took almost 4 months to repair and every electrical appliance was scrapped. Thankfully, no-one was injured but as you can imagine, the little ones get very nervous now. Anne
 
I remember sitting on the stairs, but I am not frightened of storms now, although I know people who are, I also knew a lady who was sitting at her window looking out at a storm, and was struck, she had a nasty mark on her face, her windows were them old metal ones, I don't know if that was the problem, or it would have happened anyway.
 
When we were in Gozo there was a priest being [don't know how it is spelled]? inaugurated and a bolt of lightning struck the church. We all jumped out of our seats in the little local cafe bar. It was a bright blue flash followed immediately bye a massive thunder clap. Jean.
 
Some time ago I read that Volkswagen had carried out test that proved being in a car is probably the safest place to be in a thunderstorm. I assume it's because you're insulated from the ground by rubber tyres filled with air.

Unplugging TV and especially PC is probably a practical thing to do as they're both very vulnerable. Personally, I'm one of those who opens the door; not because I'm scared but because I like the savour the atmosphere a thunderstorm brings and the lightning flashes fascinate me, not to mention the fresh smell of the earth when the storm has passed.
rainbow3.gif
 
I'm probably weird but i love to go out in thunderstorms, watch the lightning, count the seconds before the thunder to work out far away it is, I think its a great free show ! Some can really be spectacular, particularly forked lightning. Many years ago when I was flying in the RAF during stormy weather we would often see lightning shoot along the wings without causing any damage at all quite an impressive sight. Eric
 
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Bernie thats the word Faraday cage that was related to the Japan disaster. I knew it was something like that but I couldnt remember the actual word. Thanks Carol
 
I am with you Eric I love to watch storms. My mother always tried to hide her fears so we wouldn't pick up on it, she never hid in cupboards etc. My friends often did though. I do get a little nervious sometimes if I am out in the open. I think this comes from when I was about 5 we were on holiday in Fairborne in Wales. We were on the beach when a storm hit. People scattered everywhere lilo's and beach balls were blown out to sea then suddenly in front of us a woman was struck. The bolt of lightening ran across the beach and the lady just dropped. My brothers grabbed my hands and flew across the beach back to Dad's car with Mom and Dad running behind. I was only 5 but remember it very well.
 
I love watching storms, a few years ago I was sitting listening and watching, counting as you do to see how far away it was, when the bang and the lightening seemed almost simultaneous, without realizing I had done it I had moved to the far side of the room, away from the window, I looked out and there was a scorch mark on the grass, that was what I call close.
 
I have never been frightened by thunder and lightening although I know a lot of people who would hide in cupboards etc. I do know how dangerous it can be because during my first term at Aston Commercial School one of the boys who had started at the same time was killed riding his bike, I think it was on the Bristol Road when it still had trams lines and must have caused an arc to his bike.
 
Our neighbour, who is a farmer, lost 12 cattle when the tree they were standing under for shelter was hit by lightning! Anne
 
I watched on tv a few years ago a football team being thrown to the floor when lightening his the pitch. Our friend Bill the farmer was struck when lightening hit a metal badge while he was riding his motor bike but he was not harmed but the badge was bent. I too love the smell of wet earth after a storm and is it true that sheet lightening charges the corn to help it's growth?. Jean.
 
Admitted, you do hear of unfortunate people getting struck by lightning, but the odds must be millions to one, you have probably better odds of winning the Lottery !!! Eric
 
dek carr said:
Hello Carolina I think the metal strips that are attached to the back of cars were to dissipate Static electricity built up by friction between the tyres and the road.can you ever remember the old buses when you grabbed hold of the rail to get on the bus sometimes you would get a shock. I can not recall any one ever to be struck by lightening in a car. Dek
Click to expand...

I remember the car attachement and I always associated this earthing static to stop car sickness. In theory it should be fairly safe in a car as it is insulated by the rubber tyres. Electricity will always find the least resistance to earth. So attaching an earthing device would in theory increase the chance of being struck??

Lightening is a fascinating subject and I seem to remember seeing some slow motion filming of the phenomenon and if my memory is correct the bolt suprisingly started from earth and made its path upwards meeting another bolt as it did so.

If you really want to see some sparks then the Tesla Coil is the thing to have, I want one!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-AS13fl30
 
Hi guys
we used to love the old thunder and lighting from many years ago sadly we do not have them like we used to do do we
change in the climate so now we are all gonna get sun burt so you had better get the extra fans in when summer comes buy now before
the public dash out and snapping them up its abit like buying your winter clothes in the summer and buy your summer clothes in the winter
you get them cheaper i think ;
and i can remember it rained for forty days and forty nights and aston was flooding from one end of the aston cross all doewn the lichfield rd to the aston ressor and regards the winds w had a big wind blow way back in aston lichfield rd in the year of 1952-3
we all woke up on the sunday morning only to find up cromwell terrace the top two houses that joined together was thje newmans and the craddocks family had the whole combined roofs remomed from the the winds rafters and all we was all shockedto see there whle complete roofs gone took off
you could seethere beds and fiting and wall papers you can see this article on the front pages of the sunday mercury for that year they covered the story big pictures hats the last time i can ever recall bad weather here nothink to confere with our foriegn counter parts which is a sad thing to see
i went to the domingam republic my self for two weeks two years ago and seen the devastion it done there for those people when you se it real life it makes you think and brings it home to you just how lucky we are best wishes astonian
 
My aunt always made me smile when we had thunder and lightning, she would make me take all the plugs out of the sockets, and for some reason only known to herself would close the curtains. I used to say to her the lightning is not going to suddenly stop outside the window and say i cant go in there because the curtains are closed,and shoot off somewhere else. we used to laugh because she always did it anyway. All the best formula t.
 
My Mom made us open all the doors in case a Thunder bolt entered the house.
 
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