I drove through some nasty hail on 494W on my way home from The Mars Volta concert in St. Paul last night. Lightning was striking all around the airport and MOA, the hail was pelting my car’s recently refurbished paint job (thanks a lot, God) and the thunder was shaking my car.

Turns out just around that same time three construction workers were struck by lightning at MSP Airport. More info here here and here.

From KARE 11:

According to police reports, the man was setting out orange cones around 10:20 Monday night, for a construction project at the airport. Two other workers were with him. Lightning from a passing storm hit the man in the head, then passed on to his co-workers, who both got jolted in the hands and arms.
“Like an electric fence,” one of them told police.

According to the Strib:

The three construction workers, whose names were not immediately available, were hurt at 10:20 p.m. when lightning struck the vehicle they were in on a taxiway near the E concourse north of the Lindbergh terminal…

Well, whether they were standing outside or in a truck, it’s good everyone’s okay. That lightning was nasty.

Oh, and in case you think you’re safe in your car, the Strib says:

Contrary to belief, rubber tires and rubber shoe soles do not provide protection from lightning, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.

NONE OF US ARE SAFE!

Photo adapted (poorly) from Flickr via Creative Commons Attribution remix license.

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