Yeah, that is about what my closest call was like.
What I've always found interesting is the lack of sound in about half the cases I've learned of. In my own closest call, which was 23" away from my left arm (streetlight), I remember hearing a buzzzzzz-bzzt and then wondering why I was in the air falling toward the mud.
About half a second later a giant crack happened, from a stringer off the main bolt.
In the first video I referenced, it wasn't even that loud! The whole sound/proximity question still fascinates me.
As for your experience, I've been a fisherman for most of my life. Thankfully, I've not had really bad experiences with lightning while fishing, but yours is a great lesson.
And one thing to note is that a fishing rod is one /hell/ of a lightning attractor. If you've got carbon fiber near you, get away from it rapidly.
> Small storms can be more dangerous that big storms. If you hear thunder, take it seriously.
This is extremely important as well, because we'll often disregard a towering cumulous cloud with the classic "aw, that ain't a storm!" That can change in seconds, because powerful updrafts can move upwards of 100mph. Being outside in a highly unstable weather environment is inherently dangerous.
Yeah, I was pretty certain right after it happened that I had sustained hearing damage, but after hearing myself speak I was happy to realize that I hadn't.
I've had quite a few thunderstorms come up on me while I was fishing. The one that almost got me was one of the less scary ones in terms of my feeling of safety. I think I'm now destined for a life where every plane overhead or truck driving by immediately makes me think thunder.
What I've always found interesting is the lack of sound in about half the cases I've learned of. In my own closest call, which was 23" away from my left arm (streetlight), I remember hearing a buzzzzzz-bzzt and then wondering why I was in the air falling toward the mud.
About half a second later a giant crack happened, from a stringer off the main bolt.
In the first video I referenced, it wasn't even that loud! The whole sound/proximity question still fascinates me.
As for your experience, I've been a fisherman for most of my life. Thankfully, I've not had really bad experiences with lightning while fishing, but yours is a great lesson.
And one thing to note is that a fishing rod is one /hell/ of a lightning attractor. If you've got carbon fiber near you, get away from it rapidly.
> Small storms can be more dangerous that big storms. If you hear thunder, take it seriously.
This is extremely important as well, because we'll often disregard a towering cumulous cloud with the classic "aw, that ain't a storm!" That can change in seconds, because powerful updrafts can move upwards of 100mph. Being outside in a highly unstable weather environment is inherently dangerous.