Re: What effect does lightning have on people right before it strikes?

Cloud-to-ground lightning (the kind that usually stikes people) usually initiates with a 'stepped leader' from the cloud, which meets a 'leader' from the ground. The leader and the stepped leader together act as initiators of the main bolt of lightning...they provide the ionized flowpath for the main bolt of electrical current. The leader and stepped leader preceed the main bolt by a small fraction of a second...if you're lucky enough to be NEAR a bolt of lightning without being STRUCK by it, you may hear a "snap" or a loud "pop" (the sound of the leader) immediately followed by the thunderclap. If a person is being struck, the 'leader' may travel through the person (or travel on the surface of the person) prior to the main bolt of lightning. I don't know if a person being struck could hear or feel the leader (perhaps you could interview a victim and ask!).

Lightning, obviously, can kill. However, 9 out of 10 people struck by lighting survive (statistic from the National Lightning Safety Institute), though they often suffer burn, neurological, and/or psychological trauma. Often, when lightning hits a person, the heart is stopped. CPR can often revive these people (keep your CPR training current!)

For more info, go to http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_info.html