That deafening thunder many people in Ballard heard (and felt) last night was actually preceded by lightning right at our doorsteps. According to the Corps of Engineers, the Ballard Locks was hit by lightning, knocking power out to the large locks. The large locks will be closed today for repair. The small locks are still open. (Thanks Rachel for the tip!)
Ballard Locks hit by lightning
Strange, I must have been pretty passed out not to hear anything. I also walked over the Locks this morning on my way to work and didn’t see any damage or hear anyone talking about it…too bad I didn’t read this before leaving the house, I would have asked the Locks guys to show me what happened!!
I’m shocked (pun intended) that the lightning didn’t strike the train bridge towers. those are clearly the tallest things around and likely designed to handle any strikes.
what’s really sad is that people get all excited about these weather events that are so commonplace elsewhere.
yep, I do not think it is sad. I’m originally from the midwest and thunderstorms are a fascinating wonder of nature. To experience the occasional one here is exciting.
I’m also surprised the train bridge did not get hit, seems like the perfect “lightning rod.”
I had just turned onto 56th NW off of 24th Ave NW headed west; the lightning was so bright it was like an atomic bomb going off and the thunder nearly knocked me off my bike. The rain started when I was only one block from my house and came down so hard that my clothes are still wet this morning!
This concerns me greatly, greatly enough to end clauses with adverbs. There’s a story from Norse mythology that foretells a day when lightning will strike the place where salt-water and fresh-water meet, resulting in mutated fish that will rise and enslave mankind. So I’m envisioning a Stay Puft marshmallow man/evil Sockeye scenario. I suggest that my fellow Ballardians stockpile ammunition and canned goods.
don’t get me wrong jburg–
I LOVE electrical storms.
what’s sad is that we don’t get more of them.
Ok – sad, not as in pathetic sad…got it!
Car alarms were going off on 60th/24th. It seemed like quite the delay for being that close. I was able to make a comment and my gf asked what I said before the thunder. It was pretty cool though
My nerves still haven’t calmed back down! That was one heck of a strike.
Yes, that was a delay! I got to one (one thousand) four when the thunder hit and I’m just up the street.
my dogs had been acting nervous all evening, i’m sure they heard thunder off in the distance…then when the LOUD clap sounded, even the cats got scared!
So what was that other boom that happened over an hour later? Heard the thunder — it was loud and kept rolling for a pretty long time for one thunderclap! Woke the kids and made the dog crazy. Then there was more of an industrial sounding explosion or maybe just a big cherrybomb later.
I thought I had imagined these… Thanks for proving me wrong! :)
Bright, to the extreme, as well!
It was so loud and long, I looked out each side of the house to confirm there was no fireball from an explosion. Then I saw a lightening flash to the north, followed by normal thunder. Exciting!
Gawd!! I saw the lightening and felt the thunder. Crashed right over head! Very fun.
Did anyone get a picture??
Did anyone get a picture??
I too saw the flash and it seemed like there was a veeery long delay before the thunder. Seems hard to believe that strike was so close. I also heard a double-bang slightly later that sounded like a cherry bomb going off, or a transformer blowing up. Anyone know what that was?
I live in Crown Hill, and I thought the strike hit the roof. My whole house was shaking to the loudest thunder I’ve heard in years. A few minutes later, I heard a more distant rumble of thunder. It was truly… electrifying.
Walter, I get the ammunition part, but what I don’t get is how do you defend against an apocalyptic marshmallow fish with canned goods?
Oh – I knew it was close! I’m just 2 blocks away!! It was so loud – even felt the boom.
It scared the living bejeezus otta me! I thought maybe Obama was back in town!!! Walter and Annoymous; I laughed so hard, “defending against marshmellow fish with canned goods”…throw ’em at the stay-puff salmon! Just make sure its those cans of salmon. I did think it was a bomb! Cats and dogs jumped on me like magnets! I almost went for my bug out bag!
It was a dramatic exclamation point to my childbirth experience at Swedish just moments before – on 10.10.10 !! very exciting….
Congrats!
It was a mind blowing sound! Deep and Throaty. Like a 40 foot Harley shot down my quiet block at 100 miles an hour! I’m on sunset hill. I guess the echo off Magnolia explains this sound. I acually checked lightning strike maps the following day. I was going to search for some poor cedar tree that had been blown to bits. My friend Frank told me today that the locks had been hit.