To think it’s unnecessary to turn the tv off in a storm

[Izzy24]

Especially when we don’t have an
aerial..?

No, it's to prevent the lightening, reflecting off the mirror, onto something flammable and causing a fire

Isn't that more to do with strong sunlight rather than a very short lightning strike?

We unplug phones (from the BT socket and mains), routers, signal boosts and as many electrical appliances as we can.

5 years ago, the field across the road was hit. It caused no damage to our house or any of our neighbours', but it took out DH's wifi and melted the motherboard and did the same to our NDN. Mine is on a separate line and was fine, so was Dad's which is next door the other way.

Around 10 years ago, the huge oak tree outside my friend's house in Surrey was hit. It took out the phones, the computers and pretty much everything electrical in their house, apart from their fridge!

A couple of years ago during a bad storm there was an almighty bang and we lost our cordless phones (landline), broadband router and DVD player. TV was OK though.

Wish we'd unplugged everything yesterday, lightening took out all our virgin services and blew the TV box so it will have to be replaced. Lots of people in the same situation and it will be Friday before they can come out, my 4G is taking an absolute hammering

We unplug phones

Oh, forgot, but many years ago (late 80s) we had a cordless phone get fried. My DF had "acquired" it without a manual, so we didn't know to unplug in a storm.

And back in the early 80s, I was crossing Harrow Hill with some friends, and out of nowhere (a literal bolt from the blue) lightning hit a tree about 20m from us, which pretty much exploded. Interestingly enough it was halfway up the hill, which was topped with a lightning-conductor protected church .

Weird stuff, lightning

I did once lose a VCR to lightening, strangely it left the TV unharmed.

My grandparents used to open door in storms in case there was a thunder ball/ball lightening they could never decide which, apparently if the door is open if it comes in then it goes out the same way.

My grandparents used to open door in storms in case there was a thunder ball/ball lightening they could never decide which, apparently if the door is open if it comes in then it goes out the same way

I'd be curious to know how that permeated into folk memory ? Anyone here seen ball lightning ?

I know of some who had their house struck by lightning.
It got in the electrics, blew some kitchen tiles off the wall and one of the tiles killed their cat.

I’ve seen ball lightning. It split a tree across a field from the building I was in, separating it into 2 balls which struck a building I was in and a neighbouring one. Someone who was touching the metal window frame whilst watching the storm in the neighbouring building was blown across the room and very shaken but otherwise unharmed.

another one who unplugs sensitive electrical items (computet, tv, chargers)
and no bath or shower.

Omg can remember doing this as a kid. Front and back doors open too. Need to show this to DH who usually poo poos such things

When I was a kid my dad used to run round in a storm and unplug TVs.

He swore it was true that his mum was watching TV in a storm and her aerial was hit by lightning which came down the cable and blew the TV up. Not sure if he was pulling my leg but he seemed very serious about it and mum backed him up. Would have happened in the 70s or 80s I guess.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5149460.stm

I've seen ball lightening when we were travelling up through Italy to cross over into Croatia.Amazing sight!

So, my lightening story and and a Sad Demise.

A friend, years ago, was a journalist for the local rag. . His mother, who also lived in our city,lived for his saturday morning visits with tales too salacious to even be published in TheMail/Sun/whatever, which she read avidlly (mostly concerning the antics of the Royals, tbh).

Friend moved to London and got employment with The Telegraph, source of even more salacious gossip for his mum (and us, tbf) on his w/end visits to her.

And then here we had a godalmighty electric storm, like we had yesterday. And yes, lightening hit her aerial, travelled down,blew up her television - and she was killed stone dead by flying glass!

And so she achieved her dream. to be front page news in a newspaper

albeit dead, but..hey...

In the same storm a few years back a row of terraced houses nearby were damaged when lightning struck a roof and caused the whole row to catch fire, and a house a few streets away got struck when lightning hit the telephone cable. That burned the floorboards on their ground floor. I wasn't worried about it until then.

DH did have his TV blow up in a storm when younger as the lightening hit the ariel. Don't turn off any electrical sockets but all have surge protectors on so should be OK (I think!)

My mum used to unplug anything electrical, cover mirrors and open two windows. Then she would sit with me and my younger brother under the window till the storm had passed.

First storm after I had dd I was just settling myself under the window when I thought- what the hell am I doing?! Starting letting dd watch the storms through the window. She has no issues.

Well, as we’ve had thunder rumbling around here on the last three nights I fully expect the local maternity unit to be very busy in 9 months time....

TBH I’m listening to the thunder while watching telly and mumsnettig....

Another one whose television blew up in a storm, albeit in the eighties!

My TVs and chargers all broke in a thunder storm last year! Very very lucky a fire didn't start as you should have seen the blackened plug and socket. Thank god we were insured, otherwise that storm would've cost me a lot of money!

Lightening reflected in a mirror will not start a fire fgs.
*wanders off muttering about the laws of physics

I'm slightly jealous, all my VCR did was fffzzzt then stop working.