The Myth of Midland, TX Metal Buildings Being at Risk of Lightning Strikes

Lightning strikes are relatively rare, albeit quite frequently making the news. Tall building and objects, such as statues and spires usually take the full brunt of more than 10 million volts. For the people of Airdrie in Alberta, Canada, lightning had just paid the city a visit in a stunningly unpredictable way that was completely unseen before: it punched right through the roof of an apartment building, leaving a two-by-four feet hole. Lightning makes a direct hit on tall objects, such as buildings and trees. Though it seems contradictory, builders construct metal buildings in Midland, TX or elsewhere in the world because they make for safe shelters in a storm. Through a lightning rod on the roof, lightning strikes and travels through a metal cable (connected to the rod) down to the ground, precluding damage to the building and its occupants.

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