What the heck just happened?

[MeanLaureen]

And why does it always happen while Matthew is at work?

Here I am, sound asleep, catching up on some lost sleep from a helluva week at work when all of a sudden "POP" and one of the lampshades from the chadelier above the bed fell on me, the baby cockatiels in the cage in the room went nuts screaming and fluttering and Reilly - who is normally not scared of anything but Matthew and I fighting - turned into a shivering pile of apricot jello. Instantly one of the loudest claps of thunder I have ever heard followed.

Then it happened again about 30 seconds later - "POP" instantly followed by a huge thunderclap.

I was scared to death the house was hit by lightning but I sure wasn't going to run outside with all the "POP BOOOOMs" going on!

Finally when I heard fire engines in the distance I decided to run outside just to be sure the roof wasn't on fire. I didn't see anything where it looks like the lightning actually hit it.

Can a lightning strike nearby somehow pop the shade off of a chandelier? It has those tension clips that grip the bulb to keep it on. (and no, I'm not on a computer plugged in. I'm cordless right now - don't want the next pop to be my hair standing straight up! )

 

[MagicKingdom05]

That is strange. I suppose if the strike was close enough and with enough force I suppose it could happen. Did it shake the house?

 

[Feralpeg]

It may have hit a transformer which cause a large electrical surge. The surge could have caused the shade to fall. You might want to check your other appliances.

 

[MeanLaureen]

The house rattled a bit from the thunder but not the POP the lightning strike made (of course we are talking about maybe a 2 second delay between the two)

It's weird, this just came out of the blue - first strike of the storm. The TV was on and it didn't affect it. This computer was actually plugged into an outlet when it hit and it's fine. The chandelier was off when it happened, but the bulb that had that shade on it isn't working. 2 of them are not working - the other 3 are fine. I guess maybe it just came in through that line and ended in the chandelier.

If that's the case we are lucky. I had lightning hit the house back in 99. I was about 1 ft from the TV, going to turn it off when it struck. I felt the surge through my arm. Lost 2 of the tv's in that side of the house that time.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

It does sound like you had a power surge. I would wait til Matt gets back from work and have him check the light. It might just be two blown bulbs.

 

[chell]

EEK! Lightening can do some very strange things. Glad you are okay!!!