Lightning advisory during storms

this is a public service announcement from the Legacy. During these storms caused by Hurricane Florence many folks May worry about wind damage followed by flood damage but there's one more important thing to worry about even for those inside home. Lightning. That's right lightning can come through a glass window as I will explain how it happened. Before anyone comes to a conclusion our AM transmitter is fine and fully intact and our station is on the air on 1640 KHz AM so you can keep on reading because it's not about our station being down. The other day between 3 and 4 AM we started to hear thunder. All of a sudden there was a bright flash of light at the same time allowed crash with a blue electric streak that came in through the window and hit the bottom left-hand corner of our flat screen TV. Of course it was fried but the lightning did not come through the electrical socket the power bar nor the cable as the cable box is still functional so is our router and the surround sound bar that the TV was connected to. I did check the cable line from the cable company no Charing or any evidence that lightning had came through that cable. no sign of electrical damage on any of the electrical cords. This only proves what my wife and I saw which was the Blue Streak coming into the home through the window which hit the flat screen TV. Now I do here people continue to say that lightning cannot go through a glass window. Let's look at this like a science 101 class on lightning and you will see how it entered our home. The window frame is made out of metal and so is the track that the window slides up and down on that is metal so is the lock which locks your window shut. another thing that some folks may not think about is that your window blinds sometimes can be made out of metal particularly in an older home in which case ours was. if that metal becomes in close contact with the window frame and lightning is coming from the ground to the sky not the other way around in which case are transmitter was not struck in our 10ft antenna is less than 5 ft or so from the outer wall where the TV is. this proves that lightning in this case was not coming from the cloud to the ground. In our case and in the case of our landlords lightning strike where she is over 100 ft in a straight line from our home. This also proves that a single lightning strike can cover hundreds of feet in width. anyone who had been outside at that point in that line between our house and the landlords would have been instantly vaporized by the lightning this is why it is often been said do not walk around outside during a thunderstorm. but back to topic the lightning was in this case close to the ground not way up in the air as it would have struck the antenna and fried my transmitter for The Legacy 1640 AM in Deltaville Virginia. Also proves the point that lightning can come into a home from the window. Here is how this happened. The window frame is metal so is the track which the window frame slides up and down allowing it to open and close. Your lock that allows your window to lock is metal. and we have an older home in which case the window blinds are metal in fact made out of thin aluminum strips or slats. As we know aluminum is what antennas are made of and this aluminum is 5 ft long the perfect size for an FM antenna. So this was the perfect invitation for lightning to come into the home and strike the TV as the left corner of the TV is less than 5 feet from the window. more importantly and this is something I'm trying to get across if it had been a human standing in direct vicinity of the window when the lightning strike happened that person would have been struck by lightning. This should set off alarm Bells for people who have their beds next to their window next to the metal blinds and a metal window-frame as you are a Sitting Duck for a lightning strike. Also when you place your computer next to your window in a complex like this you are opening the invitation for disaster. it may make you think about the proximity of where you sit in your home or lay as far as your proximity to a window. This information could possibly save lives and we have been announcing this on The Legacy 1640 AM which plays true album Rock in order to inform people about this act of God that could happen to them. stay safe during the storms and it might be a good idea to pass this information on.