A WOMAN who had a hair-raising experience on the beach as thunderstorms passed close by has been told it may have been a sign she was about to be struck by lightning.
Natalie Stevens was walking her springer spaniel, Mojo, at La Rocque when her hair suddenly shot up and she experienced a tingling feeling in her forehead.
And after posting the picture on the Jersey Weather Chat Facebook page, she was inundated with messages warning that she could have been just moments away from being struck.
Speaking to the JEP yesterday, she said: ‘I was walking on the beach and it was dark and there was a very distant rumble of thunder over in France.
‘As I was walking, I noticed that my hair was sticking out of the side of my head. I didn’t think it was unusual because my hair often gets blown about a bit on the beach.
‘But then I started getting a bit of a headache and a tingling feeling in my forehead, so I got my phone out to have a look and saw that my hair was sticking up all over the place.
‘It was a really, really weird feeling.
‘It stopped after about ten to 15 minutes and my hair returned to normal.’
A number of commentators on Jersey Weather Chat have since warned Mrs Stevens that she could have been minutes away from being seriously injured or even killed.
One person wrote: ‘Just an FYI, if this happens again, it’s a signal that lightning is going to strike you. I find it bizarre that it’s not more widely known/talked about in lightning safety. Glad you were ok.’
Another added: ‘You are very lucky, as this is a very sure sign that you are potentially about to be struck by lightning.’
But another commentator said that Mrs Stevens’ impromptu new hair-do was not necessarily a sign she was in danger, writing: ‘It’s a signal that there is a static build-up in the area, not necessarily that you are going to be struck. I’ve seen this effect quite a few times while out on yachts, with lightning striking the water less than half a mile away, and [I’ve] never got hit.’
Mrs Stevens, who lives in St Saviour, said she had never experienced anything like it before, and added: ‘I have had a lot of people telling me I was close to being struck but I just don’t like to think about it.’
