Lightning was too close for comfort for one Shoreline family

By Diane Hettrick

The lightning storm was a little too close for comfort for Shoreline resident Marilyn Lopez and her family.

The storm was passing over their home, located near N 185th and Fremont. Their chihuahua was shaking and trembling under the bed.

All at once there was a huge bang. Paintings fell from the walls. Spray cans and hair products fell from the bathroom shelf all over the floor.

Marilyn saw a spark in her room and felt it in her hands.

The next morning they saw where the strike had hit their large evergreen, traveling from the top to the roots, lifting them from the dirt.

The family is fine and the chihuahua came out from under the bed after a couple of hours.

WeatherWatcher Carl Dinse, in his coverage of the storm, (see article) reported there were 7-8 lightning strikes per minute - 224 of those strikes in King County. The Lopez family can account for one of them.

9-11-19 Lightning