Is this a lightning strike?

[REJ2]

A few weeks ago a storm came thru with loud almost deafening thunder. This tree is at a local state park about a mile from me. White oak i believe. The debris field is about 200 feet in diameter though not exactly symmetrical. I cant find a burn spot anywhere but i dont know if i should see one or not. Seems obvious to me i should see something. Dont think its wind damage because nothing else in the vicinity shows any damage.

 

[lone wolf]

Sure looks like it!

 

[GenXer]

Yup, got hit good with a big bolt.

 

[REJ2]

Sure looks like it!

Yup, got hit good with a big bolt.

But no burnt wood seems odd. I walked up to the tree closely, inspected some of the blown off bark and other bits, nothing charred or otherwise. The tree itself smelled just like fresh oak sawdust from kiln dried boards you find in a woodshop.

 

[lone wolf]

But no burnt wood seems odd. I walked up to the tree closely, inspected some of the blown off bark and other bits, nothing charred or otherwise. The tree itself smelled just like fresh oak sawdust from kiln dried boards you find in a woodshop.

Well, it sure looks like a bolt hit it to me.

 

[cantoo]

One of the poplars beside my house got hit years ago. No burn marks at all but big long weird looking crack like the bottom of your first pic. The bark has kind of grown around it now but I'm planning to cut it down soon. Also had an ash tree where I cut my firewood hit by lightening. Blew a strip 6" wide from top to bottom and blew a bunch of bark off. Again no burn marks what so ever.

 

[wcorey]

I've read that it super heats the moisture in the tree and basically creates a steam explosion, thus no charring.

 

[Del_]

That may have been causes by a ground to atmosphere lightning bolt.

 

[REJ2]

Well, it sure looks like a bolt hit it to me.

I certainly agree, no other rational explanation.

 

[lone wolf]

I certainly agree, no other rational explanation.

UFO'S!

 

[GenXer]

That tree would have had alot of moisture inside it. When the current went through it, the water conducted the charge to the ground but heated the water up on the way by enough to change it to a gas. Because the grain it tighter on the outside it creates a pressure vessel, and that's the result of the vessel letting go.

Would have been a big bang.

 

[Seachaser]

I’ve had trees that exploded and others that are still living after a lightning strike. Look at the base and you may see where lightning traveled through the roots.

 

[Rbohlin]

Here’s a lightning strike where we hunt and cut firewood. Too remote to think about retrieving.

 

[Sloughfoot]

But no burnt wood seems odd. I walked up to the tree closely, inspected some of the blown off bark and other bits, nothing charred or otherwise. The tree itself smelled just like fresh oak sawdust from kiln dried boards you find in a woodshop.

There often won't be burnt wood with lightning strikes on trees. That "streak" to the base and the debarking is tell tale.

 

[BeatCJ]

A couple of years ago we had about a 42 inch Doug Fir right next to the road hit, split it to the ground like that, blew bark and limbs off. No charring at the bottom, but it was on fire about 75 feet up. We could barely lob water into it with our brush truck. I called our DNR Fire contact, they got a faller out there. The homeowner didn't want us to fall it, he wanted his farmhand to do it. I wasn't comfortable with that, so he and I bumped chests and wasted breath for an hour until the faller got there, when the owner recognized him he said OK, you should have said it was such and such coming. I had told him, and proceeded to point that out. Tree tipped over just like we planned. When it got down, we started chasing the fire in it. The owner had wanted to cut it into logs for his mill. We started cutting it into pieces to get to the fire, there ended up not being a single good log in it, even the stump was split into 6 different blocks.

Amazing how much damage a simple steam explosion like that can do.

 

[Steven1227]

A possible example of a lightning strike I came across….

 

[Oletrapper]

A few weeks ago a storm came thru with loud almost deafening thunder. This tree is at a local state park about a mile from me. White oak i believe. The debris field is about 200 feet in diameter though not exactly symmetrical. I cant find a burn spot anywhere but i dont know if i should see one or not. Seems obvious to me i should see something. Dont think its wind damage because nothing else in the vicinity shows any damage.

View attachment 1154973View attachment 1154971View attachment 1154970View attachment 1154969View attachment 1154968

Most definitely a lightening strike. I had one similar on the farm several years ago. No burn marks anywhere. Had another one hit and it smoldered for days. Mother nature at her finest. jmho OT

 

[Oletrapper]

That may have been causes by a ground to atmosphere lightning bolt.

Many time lapse films out there showing the ground to sky feeders going up and the main bolt returning to the point of origin. Really neat to watch. OT

 

[husqvarna257]

had a maple come down from lightning at my dads old house. looked like a grenade went off.

 

[svk]

That one took a serious hit! Usually the ones I have seen just have a ring of bark peeled off like a barberpole sign. Once it hit two trees next to each other behind my garage and both took damage.