Can lightning strike my house out of nowhere.

pcdudedude

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Feb 20, 2015
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Basically, everyday there is a mild thunderstorm. I can barely hear thunder out in the distance. Should I unplug my pc? Everyone tells me I should always unplug everything if there is thunder, but what if it is faint thunder? BTW I already have a very good ups and I already know that this will not help against a direct hit.
 
Its very unlikely that lightning will strike your house directly, and houses that are built in an area where a lightning strike is more likely will have a grounding device installed. A good UPS or surge protector will protect you from any ordinary surge.
 
Yeah unfortunately if your house gets struck by lightning...no amount of ups or surge protection is going to protect ANY electronics in your house.

Reason being is that when lightning strikes something it generates a current so massive that it gets induced into pretty much EVERYTHING metallic around the house. Those little wires in your CPU, and your motherboard's IC's?

Toast. Fried done and kaput. Not to mention that your PSU would also probably go kablooey too.

But the chances of lightning actually striking your house is so slim to begin with. If you're worried about potential damage then you need to have a proper lightning rod installed a little while away from your house, so that the lightning will hit that and be safely absorbed into the earth.