OT: Lightening

[ckcarr]

What do you think of riding right into a thunder and lightening storm?

I was 140 miles toward my destination today and ran into a big gray/green storm with wind, thunder and lightening snapping all around. Decided to do what I thought was the smart thing and turn around. Out in the desert so there's not a lot of higher points for the stuff to pick over me.

[Moybin]

Lightning can reach ten miles beyond the cloud deck, so it can hit you long before you realize you are in danger. And I've seen heat lightning in the open desert with absolutely no clouds in the sky. It spiraled right down the column of the thermal that caused it.

gray/green storm? Here in the midwest when the sky turns the colors of a week-old skin bruise (you know, purple, green, yellow and blue) you are looking at a tornado forming. When the sky turns colors you've never seen before it's time to get underground!

[wswartzwel]

Well if its not your time to go, the lightening won't kill you, but only smoke you up real bad..... but it would put the screws to your MOtronic..... (did they have a larrytronic an curlytronic ignition system before the motronic???) You made the right choice if you were the highest point around.

[Moybin]

Shemptronic! What happened to Shemptronic?

[wswartzwel]

sorry.... the forgotten stooge.....

[itchybro]

GO here:

http://tinyurl.com/5yyn2

Read 10th post down by "Joe Frickin Friday". That will set you straight.

(I know it did me!)

By the way, you did the right thing.

[ckcarr]

Describing the green sky isn't the same green as those midwestern storms that = tornado. Just dark green saturated with water.

Well if you follow the post to this thread the guy describes essentially where I was. Trying to get upward to Capital Reef. Those storms can be quite scary out there, no wonder dogs run for the basement during thunderstorms - they know whats up! Everything I've ever read in the past warns unequivocally to get off your bikes, motorcycles, golf courses when possible.

http://www.wildwestcycle.com/f_litning.html

My last scare was about three years ago again out in the flat country between Norwood and Naturita with bolts crashing on both sides. I was more trapped there than today. Today I had the option of reversing course. The stretch between Norwood & Nturita was as if I was being chased by the storm, plus there were several inches of water on the road.

[markjenn]

Cycle World was doing a group tour from their offices in CA to Milwaukee for Harley's anniversary last year. Somewhere in Colorado, a member of their group was struck by lightning and killed. Alan Girdler wrote the story up last year. Very sad.

- Mark