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    Question ID:   19726         Current Version: 1
Question: How does lightning strike a house?
Category: Science > Weather
Keywords: cause, damage, house, lightning strike
Type: how
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 11    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:

Lightning strikes can produce some very strange effects. Lightning usually strikes the highest feature above the ground, but can "run" or jump to adjacent objects, such as houses, power lines, or even people or animals.

When it was raining at the time of the lightning strike, the lightning energy could have come down the large tree first. It doesn't matter whether your electrical service comes into your house through the ground or via overhead lines. Lightning is good at penetrating the soil, especially if wet, and going into the electrical service line. From there it enters the house, blows right past the circuit breakers (circuit breakers do not protect you from electrical surges from outside the house, whether on or off), and goes through all of the electrical cable and fixtures in the house, often starting a fire in furniture, carpet, or the walls and burn the house.

Sources:

[1] Wendell Bechtold, David Cook, "Lightning Damage", Online posting. NEWTON BBS Ask a Scientist.

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