Bonneville can be a tough place (2008)

Re:Bonneville can be a tough place (2008) by MisterTea on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @06:54AM (#23905850)

> I was surprised that it struck a completely flat part, rather than our metal SUV, since we were definitely the tallest things around.

Given that a lightning bolt is anywhere from about 1-20km long, the ~1.5 - 2m height differential of your vehicle is background noise.

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Re:Bonneville can be a tough place (2008) by distant_hat on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @09:43AM (#23906711)

It isn't about the height, it is that spikier conducting things concentrate charges.

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Re:Bonneville can be a tough place (2008) by paulcole on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @08:12AM (#23906215)

Does this mean the people are pretty much safe, too? Can’t imagine many of them are over 2m.

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Re:Bonneville can be a tough place (2008) by ableal on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @09:06AM (#23906490)

A few years ago a young woman jogging on the beach near Lisbon was struck and killed by lightning.

I wouldn't bet my life against those natural shortest path algorithms ...

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Re:Bonneville can be a tough place (2008) by rob74 on Tuesday July 21, 2020 @08:17AM (#23906246)

I wouldn't bet on it - the lightning might strike the ground directly sometimes, but I imagine that a taller object still has a much higher risk of being struck...

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