Lightning Rods

Bernie Fogarty of Alabama Power says, ''Lightning typically will blow fuses, it will operate breakers. It can even burn wire down and sometimes get into equipment and do a lot of damage.'' If that is what it does to high-powered items just imagine what it does to your home electronics.

Outdoor facilities like McDuffie coal terminal are sensitive to lightning from the common thunderstorms we get in the summer.

Randy Gossette is the Superintendent of McDuffie Coal Terminal. ''A lot of times you can see thunderstorms coming but a lot of times, being right here on the mouth of the Bay, they generate right here and get started right on top of us before we know they are here.''

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With all of that exposure, safety is important to employees. Judy Adams of the Alabama State Port Authority says, ''All of this equipment is grounded so it throws any strikes to the ground. And in those severe weather conditions our employees are already under cover. They've left the open areas.''

That is a good practice and these safety steps work around your home too. Always follow the forecast and use your eyes and ears to spot thunderstorms. The best shelter is in a permanent building but once you're inside, a direct strike to your home can be costly or catastrophic. In the picture below, the home was struck by lightning and caught on fire

Robert Slade is a Master Installer Designer with Affordable Lightning Protection, in Daphne (251 680-7878). He is certified by the Lightning Protection Institute. He says that lightning can enter a building via your service entrance wiring which would be your electric lines, your cable lines, your telephone lines. And it could actually strike your house and come in that way. Other ways for lightning to get inside are through plumbing and gas lines.

That's why some local homeowners have installed lightning protection systems with lightning rods as the major component.

Mike Riley installs lightning protection systems across the region with Bonded Lightning Protection. He says that lightning does not just hit the tallest thing. When it strikes, it looks for the path of least resistance to get to the ground. What lightning rod systems do is create a cage over your home to allow lightning to do just that. That is what you see in the image above.

A lightning protection system is custom designed for each home or building. Certified by Underwriters Laboratories, a lightning protection system is lightning rods, cables, connectors, grounding rods, surge arrestors for your electric panel, and often surge protectors for sensitive electronics. The whole point is to keep lightning from getting inside your home, and then inside appliances and other items. Your insurance should cover lightning damage to property but it can not cover inconvenience. So for major appliances, use extra protection from surge protectors.

Stan Chavis of State Farm Insurance in Mobile says that he commonly sees people who have had telephones and TVs zapped by lightning. He recommends individual surge protectors on those types of items. ''It will save you the hassle of your stuff being down, even though it will be covered.''

Check with your insurer to see if there is a policy discount for lightning protection systems. Remember that it does not take a direct strike to damage your possessions. Mike Riley explains that when lightning strikes something close to you ripples of electrostatic field get rippled off and can actually induce current into the wiring that runs down the wall or the attic of a house. ...and that is a striking fact.

A typical lightning protection system for your home runs about 1% the cost of your home. Lightning rods are not a do-it-yourself project. Make sure to use a Lightning Protection Institute Certified installer. They are listed in the phone book under lightning protection.

See real-time lightning strikes around the country from the US Lightning Protection Network. Lightning Awareness Week is a time to focus on the dangers of lightning. There's a special lightning safety webpage just for kids.

LIGHTNING SAFETY

• Don't get caught outdoors. Move inside.
• If caught outdoors, get inside of a hard-top vehicle, or crouch low on the ground away from tall isolated objects. There's no guarantee that crouching will help you so running to a permanent building or hard-topped vehicle is good advice.
• Don't hide under tall isolated trees or near power lines, fences, heavy machinery, water, or train tracks.
• Don't use a phone with cord during lightning.
• Listen to your weather radio to find out if storms my be severe.

Don't shower or use other plumbing in lightning storms.