Most of us have all been in some pretty sticky situations involving thunderstorms.
Whether it’s driving through a torrential downpour where you can’t even see the road, playing golf and a pop up thunderstorm come out of nowhere (extremely terrifying when a golf club can turn into a lightning rod real quick), getting caught on the beach or the middle of the lake, and more, it can be pretty scary when you hear thunder and see lightning striking all around you.
However, not too many of us can say that we’ve seen lightning strike within just a few feet from where we were standing…. or, paddling.
With that being said, these kayak fishermen experienced this first hand in about the most terrifying way possible.
In the crazy video footage that appears to have been taken via GoPro, you can see the two kayakers just enjoying a chill day on the lake, when all of a sudden a massive bolt of lightning shoots down from the heavens and lands directly on the water, or perhaps, on the rod.
As you can imagine, the kayakers immediately jump in fear, and one of them yells:
“OH MY GOD!”
The video also replays it in slow motion, showing just how violent a lightning strike is.
The caption to the video shares some good tips about lightning, and what to do when you’re in a situation like this:
“Men are struck roughly four times as often as women. In the United States, men account for 84 percent of lightning fatalities, and women make up the remaining 16 percent.
Lightning isn’t that thick. In fact, it’s only an inch or two across. It just looks wider because of luminosity.
Never shelter under a tree. If lightning strikes a tree, the charge can flow through the trunk and laterally strike individuals beneath it, or also spread through the ground. Many lightning tragedies have stemmed from individuals seeking shelter beneath trees.
Don’t be the tallest object. Avoid hills, mountaintops or open areas as lightning tends to strike taller objects in an area.”
Check it out:
