Lightening or something else....

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CodyWayne718

CodyWayne718

Feeling the Heat
Dec 11, 2009
404
Kentucky
Jus something weird I seen the other day while I was out cuttin, it goes from top all the way to the bottom. Their about an inch or inch and a half deep in the tree. Along with what I believed to be a Honey Locust but that is the only thorn on the tree. I thought Honey Locust had clusters all over them.....
 

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That's definitely lightning, and definitely honey locust...

That lone thorn is really odd though... they do, indeed have lots of clusters... wish I would've taken a picture of the one I took down today... I probably could have filled a truck bed heaped full of thorns.

ETA, if that is your tree, I would cut it down for firewood now. With multiple parts blown out like that and if it's really 1 1/2" deep, the tree is going to struggle, and it's good firewood.
 
That looks just exactly like the cases of lightning strike that I have seen. The tree can either be mortaly wounded (rot and die) or heal it over. I have also been up on a struck tree and, when finished removing, the tree the inside is vertually cooked the wood is solid but it is dry and hard like a kilndried board. I have no idea how some stay standing and others explode...
 
Every one here says they love pics, so I'm gonna start tryin to remember my camera more often. I thought it was really weird how the parts of the tree that are gone were no where to be found.
 
Lightening for sure. Had one explode as I was closing the front door at my parents house. Chunks of bark landed on the porch right where I was seconds earlier.
Scarey stuff!
 
This reminds me of a thunderstorm we had a few years ago. Big bang for sure! After the storm I went outdoors and found a strip of bark about 10' long and 3" thick. It took a while to find where it came from but then we found stuff laying all over the place. Lightning had hit 3 red oaks in our neighbor's woods. They all died too.

About a month later, we had another storm on a Saturday night. Our power went out at the same time another big bang. We found the cap to our transformer about 100' from the pole. The power company said they'd never seen that. I was amazed how heavy that cap was but forgot to ask how heavy the whole transformer is. Wish I had but I know it is very heavy. We did get power restored in about 2 hours. Nice work they did.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
I was amazed how heavy that cap was but forgot to ask how heavy the whole transformer is. Wish I had but I know it is very heavy.
Click to expand...

If your talking about the round can looking one that just serves 1 house it depends on what size it is- should have a large number stamped on it somewhere, something like 5, 10, 25 which is its value in kVA (roughly equivelent to kW). I have a 10kVA 'pole pig' and as I recall the shippign weight on a pallet was around 325# and it was full of oil. I have some hobbies which utilize high voltage... dont ask lol.
 
Ah, a Tesla Coil Buider?

I'm right aren't I - always wanted to get my hands on one of those transformers. I built my Tesla coil when I was 17 - want to get it running again.
 
Mesuno said:
Ah, a Tesla Coil Buider?

I'm right aren't I - always wanted to get my hands on one of those transformers. I built my Tesla coil when I was 17 - want to get it running again.
Click to expand...

I've built a few, among other HV things and EMP things...

To keep it on topic, CodyWayne, I've never seen lightning do that, very interesting. I've seen it scorch trees, split em, etc, but that line of bark missing running down the tree is pretty cool... well not for the tree anyhow.
 
Great pics. Thanks for sharing those. Amazing how the line goes right down the entire trunk.
 
RNLA said:
I have no idea how some stay standing and others explode...
Click to expand...

A buddies sailboat got hit and exploded at the water line into a buzzillion little holes. He forgot to attach the strap from the mast to the keel when the boat went in the water in the spring.
 
CountryBoy19 said:
That's definitely lightning, and definitely honey locust...

That lone thorn is really odd though... they do, indeed have lots of clusters... wish I would've taken a picture of the one I took down today... I probably could have filled a truck bed heaped full of thorns.

ETA, if that is your tree, I would cut it down for firewood now. With multiple parts blown out like that and if it's really 1 1/2" deep, the tree is going to struggle, and it's good firewood.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that the rest of the thorns vaporized on impact? Maybe a porcupine slid down the tree to make that mark... haha
 
Can y'all ID the tree that got struck by lightening or should i split some an make an ID post of it? The tree that got struck is a different one from the one with the thorns. One with thorns didnt get struck.
 
CountryBoy19 said:
That's definitely lightning...
Click to expand...
Agreed. Lightening is what you do to your hair.
 
LLigetfa said:
CountryBoy19 said:
That's definitely lightning...
Click to expand...
Agreed. Lightening is what you do to your hair.
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Oh, I've been spelling it wrong! Read my last post fellas.....
 
BUMP
 
I'll just post an ID thread then...............:)
 
CodyWayne718 said:
I'll just post an ID thread then...............:)
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Man, didn't give us much of a chance... I'll look for the ID thread.

Well, I didn't see an ID thread so I'll give it a guess.

From the vague picture, it looks like maybe White Oak, or a Maple. The scaley bark is the reason I say that (I always have a hard time telling between White oak and maple bark). But don't take my word for it because I don't deal with those woods very often. I'm more of an Ash, locust, hickory, hedge kinda guy (yes I'm a wood snob).
 
The damaged tree looks like a sweet gum to me, possibly maple.
 
A close lightning strike can get you up. Six years ago a big elm 60' or so feet from the house got hit just before daylight. I was sleeping then I found myself standing up looking around going WTF. It blew bark all the way back to the house. Everyone said the tree was going to die but its still going strong.

IMG_0277.jpg


Billy
 
I looked for peices of bark but didnt see any. I was told the one I posted would prolly die so I took'er down!
 
last spring I was sitting with the family explaining to my 4 year old that thunder is nothing to worry about- just God telling you it's going to rain. No kidding that just as I was explaining that lightening struck the mature red oak in my front yard. Blew bark everywhere and had that sweet smell of burning oak for several hours- so far it's still alive.
 
HardWoodW said:
last spring I was sitting with the family explaining to my 4 year old that thunder is nothing to worry about- just God telling you it's going to rain. No kidding that just as I was explaining that lightening struck the mature red oak in my front yard. Blew bark everywhere and had that sweet smell of burning oak for several hours- so far it's still alive.
Click to expand...

Uh . . . so what do you think God was telling you then? ;) :) . . . maybe that he likes pine trees better than oak? ;) :)
 
Co-worker last Summer had quite the incident . . . storm blew through in his hometown of Sorrento . . . lightning struck a tree (I believe it was a pine believe it or not . . . so maybe God doesn't like pine trees either ;) ) . . . anyways the tree caught on fire and chunks of the tree were everywhere . . . that and rocks . . . rocks were thrown up and actually damaged the siding to his house.

He ran out with an extinguisher to put out the tree that was on fire and came back to find the power was out . . . went to the basement to check the electrical panel for some reason and the next thing he knew he was thrown back against his car after being mildly shocked . . . well maybe saying it was "mild" is an understatement since he did go to the local ER and was kept overnight . . . right after this the tree re-ignited . . .

He said it was quite the experience . . . ended up frying up everything electric in his house . . . and since one of his daughters was getting married at their house the very next day they had to rent some Porta Potties since the well pump was toast . . . docs wanted to keep him a bit longer, but he figured it was kind of important to not miss his daughter's wedding.
 
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