When Ford named the first F-150 electric truck the Lightning, we’re 100% sure it wasn’t a reference to real lightning strikes and the destruction they bring. But here it is – a Ford truck, specifically a Super Duty truck struck by lightning and burned to a crisp.
According to the original uploader of the images, Kristi Hughes Groover, the unnamed owner of the Ford Super Duty truck was a cabinet installer, believed to be working on a project near the area. The entire center section of the truck or cabin area was completely destroyed and unrecognizable, although the front fascia appeared unscathed.
The harrowing incident happened on Dataw Island in South Carolina during intense storms on a Tuesday afternoon. The truck was parked near a tree and, according to eyewitnesses, shared by the Explore Beaufort, SC Facebook, the lightning struck a tree, descended and jumped towards the truck. This strike started a fire, which caused the damage seen in the photos until it was extinguished. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), you are generally safe inside a vehicle during a cloud-to-vehicle lightning strike because “the outer metal shell of metal hardtop vehicles provides protection to those who are inside a vehicle with the windows closed.” As seen in this incident, there is quite a bit of wiggle room with this statement.
As NWS says:
A typical cloud-to-ground, actually cloud-to-vehicle, lightning strike will strike either the vehicle’s antenna or along the roof line. The lightning will then pass through the outer metal shell of the vehicle, then through the tires to the ground.
To be fair, we don’t know if the windows of the truck were closed during the lightning. In addition, the one that hit the vehicle was a second-hand blow from a tree and it caused a fire on a certain part, which caused huge damage.
As a general rule, anyone outside of a shelter is at risk during a thunderstorm, so if your situation allows it, go inside during these situations – preferably inside the house rather than in a car.
