After a Nearby Lightning Strike: What to Check

The flash and the crack of thunder arrive together, the lights flicker, and the house goes quiet for a second. Then you notice that the router is dark, the television will not turn on, or an outlet is behaving oddly. A close lightning strike leaves its mark in subtle ways, and some of those marks can be dangerous if they are ignored.

This guide is for the hours and days right after a nearby strike. It focuses on what you can safely see, hear and smell, what you should leave alone, and how to decide whether you need professional help. It does not ask you to open anything or work on any wiring. Careful observation is the most useful tool you have, and the rest belongs to a qualified electrician.

First, make sure everyone is safe

Before thinking about equipment, think about people. If anyone felt a shock, was near the strike or feels unwell, get medical advice. Lightning-related injuries can include effects that are not obvious at first, such as dizziness, headache, numbness, confusion or changes in heartbeat. Do not wait to see whether symptoms go away if someone was close to the strike.

If you see flames, smell smoke, or notice a wall or ceiling that is hot to the touch, leave the building, call emergency services from outside, and do not go back in. A strike can start a fire inside a wall or the attic, and it may smolder for a while before it becomes visible.

Look around from a safe position. If the storm is still active, stay indoors, away from windows, plumbing and corded devices, until the lightning has moved off. Lightning can strike again in the same area, and going out to inspect is not worth the risk.

• Check on everyone in the house, including children and pets.
• Do not touch wet equipment or stand in water near outlets or the panel.
• Do not go into an attic or a crawl space to look for damage while the weather is active.

Use your senses before you use any switch

Your eyes, nose and ears can tell you a great deal without any risk. Walk through the house slowly and pay attention.

• Smell. A sharp, metallic or plastic odor, like burning insulation or an overheated appliance, deserves immediate attention. It often indicates a hot connection or a scorched component.
• Sight. Look for scorch marks or discoloration around outlets, switches, light fixtures, the panel and appliances. Check for melted plastic, cracks in cover plates or soot.
• Sound. Listen for buzzing, crackling, sizzling or popping from walls, outlets or the panel. Any of these suggests a problem that should not be ignored.
• Touch with caution. If it is safe and dry, a back-of-the-hand check can tell you whether a wall plate or appliance feels unusually warm. Never touch anything that is damp, scorched or making noise.

If you notice a burning smell, our article on burning smell from an outlet and the urgent steps describes what to do.

Write down what you notice

Stress can make details fade, so make notes as you go. A phone note is enough. Record the time of the strike, what you heard and saw, which lights or devices were affected, and what you found during your walk-through. If the strike was close enough to shake the house, mention that too. These notes help an electrician narrow down the cause, and they help you notice patterns, such as every outlet on one side of the house being affected.

Patterns tell a story. If all the failures are on one circuit or one side of the house, the damage may be local. If devices fail across the whole house, the surge probably came in through the service. If only equipment connected to cable or network lines failed, the surge probably came in through those lines. That distinction guides what needs to be fixed and what protection to add.

The panel and the breakers

The electrical panel often shows the first signs. Without opening it, you can look at the outside. If it is dry and you are standing on a dry surface, check for any sign of heat, such as discoloration on the cover, a burning smell near it, or a buzzing sound.

It is common for one or more breakers to trip after a strike. A tripped breaker may mean that a surge or a fault triggered protection, and it can be a sign that something on that circuit was damaged. If a breaker has tripped, avoid resetting it repeatedly. One careful reset on a circuit that you believe to be undamaged may be reasonable, but if it trips again, leave it off and call for service.

If the main breaker has tripped or if the panel itself seems affected, do not keep trying to reset it. Switching on a main after a strike when the panel or service equipment is damaged can make things worse. Our electrical panel repair page describes the kinds of problems a panel inspection can find.

Do not open the panel cover. The inside is not a place for homeowners, and a damaged panel may still hold dangerous energy.

Outlets, switches and lights

Walk through the house and look at the outlets and switches, especially those near where the strike seems to have hit and those serving the equipment that failed. Note which ones do not work, which ones feel warm, and which ones have marks around them.

An outlet that has stopped working after a storm does not always mean damage to the wiring. A GFCI outlet may have tripped, and the reset button may restore power. If a GFCI keeps tripping afterward, however, a ground fault or moisture could be present, and the circuit needs inspection. Our article on why a GFCI keeps tripping explains the common causes.

If a group of outlets is dead and no breaker has tripped, the problem may be a damaged connection or a device that has failed. That points to a damaged connection or a failed device and needs a proper inspection.

• Do not plug anything new into a suspect outlet while you decide what to do.
• Do not use an outlet that sparks, smells hot or has scorch marks.
• Note flickering or dimming lights, which can point to a loose or damaged connection.
• If a light fixture or fan acts strangely, switch it off and leave it off.

GFCI and AFCI devices deserve a special mention. Both are built to detect dangerous conditions, and both contain electronics that can be harmed by a surge. A GFCI that no longer trips when you press the test button, or an AFCI breaker that behaves erratically, has lost some of its protective function. Press the test button on each GFCI outlet in the house after a nearby strike and note any that fail to respond as they should. If one will not reset or will not test properly, it should be replaced.

Ceiling fans, dimmers and smart switches are also vulnerable. Their electronics can fail without any outward sign, and a dimmer that runs hot or hums should be left off until it has been checked. Dimmers can misbehave even without storm damage, so note whether the symptom is new.

Appliances, electronics and HVAC

Surges damage electronics in a variety of ways, and failures can be partial. Make a list of everything that behaves differently after the storm: devices that will not turn on, screens with lines or color problems, clocks that reset, a router with missing indicator lights, a thermostat that is blank, or an appliance that shows an error code.

The air conditioning system deserves special attention. The outdoor unit and the thermostat connect to long wiring runs and are common victims. If the system will not start, runs but does not cool, or behaves oddly, switch it off at the thermostat and avoid cycling it repeatedly. A damaged control board or capacitor can fail again, and repeated attempts can cause further harm.

Unplug the damaged items rather than leaving them connected. A device that has suffered internal damage may be a hazard if it is powered up again. Keep a note of model numbers and when you noticed each problem, since you may need those details later.

Check smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and any hardwired safety devices. Lightning can damage them as well, and a dead alarm is a serious problem. If one chirps, shows an error or will not reset, replace or repair it right away. See our article on hardwired smoke detector replacement and interconnection for how those units work.

Refrigerators, freezers and other things you cannot afford to lose

Some equipment matters more than the rest. If the refrigerator or freezer seems to have stopped, or if it is running but warm, do not simply wait. Food can spoil, and a compressor that is struggling can fail altogether. Check the display or the sound of the compressor, and be careful about food safety if it has been warm. Our post on food safety and power loss is a good reminder that guidelines exist, and that discarding questionable food is wise.

The same applies to a sump pump, a well pump, medical equipment and security systems. If any of them failed, find an alternative right away, and have the circuit checked before you power it again. A pump that is run on a damaged circuit can burn out, and a medical device on a faulty outlet is a risk to the person who relies on it.

The less obvious places that get hit

Lightning does not only damage what is inside the living room. Walk around the outside, in daylight and when the storm has passed, and look at the parts of the electrical system you can see.

• Outdoor lights, landscape lighting and motion sensors that no longer work.
• Garage door openers, gate operators and keypads that are unresponsive.
• Pool equipment, timers and controllers that have stopped or are acting strangely.
• Irrigation controllers and valves that do not respond.
• Doorbells, cameras and smart-home hubs that have gone offline.
• Cable, phone and internet entry points, where you might see scorching or a dislodged connection.

Look at the meter and the service mast from a safe distance. Do not touch them. If the meter looks scorched, if a wire appears loose, or if there is visible damage, treat it as an emergency and contact the utility and an electrician. Outdoor equipment and long underground runs take a lot of the punishment, so problems in these places are common even when the inside of the house seems fine.

Trees that were struck leave signs too. A split trunk, stripped bark or a burnt patch of ground near the house may indicate that energy traveled through the soil. Underground wiring and pipes in that area may have been affected.

Hidden damage and the days that follow

A close strike can set off problems that are not apparent for days or weeks. The most important are wiring damage and weakened connections. A surge may have nicked insulation, pitted a contact, or heated a splice enough to loosen it. These weak points do not announce themselves, but they can heat up under load and cause trouble later.

Pay attention over the next several days. Watch for warm outlets or switch plates, a faint burning smell that comes and goes, lights that flicker, breakers that start to trip without a clear cause, buzzing from the panel, and appliances that run hot or erratically. Any of these after a strike is a reason to have the system inspected.

It is also a good idea to look at the roof and attic if you can do so safely and after the weather clears. Look for scorch marks, damaged vents or antennas, and signs of heat. Do not walk on a roof or crawl in a hot attic without proper precautions, and do not go into the attic if you smell smoke.

Our electrical fire hazard investigation service looks for exactly this kind of hidden hazard in wiring and equipment, and it is a good choice when something does not seem right but you cannot find the cause.

Condos, townhomes and shared buildings

If you live in a condo or townhome, a strike can affect a neighbor's unit as well as your own, and a problem in a shared system may not be yours to fix. Report issues to your association or property manager, especially if you notice problems in common areas such as the lobby, hallways, elevators, parking lot lights or shared electrical rooms. Inside your unit, the same safe checks apply, but repairs to building equipment follow the building's rules.

In a shared building, one unit's burning smell can be a risk to everyone. If you smell smoke or burning near a shared meter room or electrical closet, leave and call emergency services, and let the property manager know.

What not to do

A few common reactions make things worse, and they are worth naming.

• Do not open the panel, an outlet or a fixture to look for damage.
• Do not keep resetting a breaker that trips, and do not replace a breaker with a larger one.
• Do not keep using a device or outlet that smells hot, buzzes or sparks.
• Do not ignore a problem because the equipment seems to work. Partial failures are common after surges.
• Do not assume the utility or the storm has finished with you. Power may flicker or return in surges.
• Do not run extension cords or power strips from a questionable outlet as a workaround.

The aim is to keep a damaged system from being stressed further while you decide what to do next. An unused outlet is safe. A damaged outlet carrying a load is not.

Documenting for insurance and repair

Take photographs of damaged equipment, scorch marks and anything unusual, and write down the date and time of the strike if you know it. Note what stopped working and when, and keep any receipts or model information for the items you may need to replace.

Contact your insurance provider promptly, since policies may have time limits for reporting. They can tell you what is covered and what documentation they need. A report from an electrician who inspected your panel and wiring can help show that the damage came from the event.

Do not throw away damaged equipment until the insurer has had a chance to ask about it, unless it is a hazard. If you must discard something unsafe, photograph it first.

When to call an electrician and what to expect

Call promptly if you notice burning smells, scorch marks, buzzing, hot outlets, sparks, a panel that looks affected, a main breaker that will not stay on, or multiple failures at once. Call as well if you simply feel unsure. After a strike, a professional inspection costs far less than a hidden fault.

A typical visit starts with a conversation about what happened and what you noticed. The electrician then looks at the service equipment, the panel, grounding and bonding, and the circuits that are affected. They test outlets and devices, check for abnormal heat, look for damaged wiring and recommend repairs. They may also suggest protective measures to reduce the effect of future storms, such as whole-home surge protection. Our whole home surge protection page covers that equipment.

For urgent problems, our emergency electrical repairs page explains how those calls are handled. Having a plan before the next storm makes everything easier.

Common questions

Is it normal for a breaker to trip after a nearby lightning strike?

It can be. A surge may trip a breaker as protection. If it trips once and stays on after a single careful reset, the circuit may be fine. If it trips again, leave it off and call for service.

My TV and router died but the lights work. Is that lightning damage?

Quite possibly. Surges can arrive through power, cable and network lines and damage sensitive electronics while the main wiring is unaffected. Unplug the items and have the house checked if other symptoms appear.

Can lightning start a fire days later?

In rare cases, damaged wiring or connections can overheat and smolder after a strike. Watch for burning smells, warm outlets and scorch marks, and call for an inspection if you notice any.

Should I reset the main breaker if it trips after a strike?

Not repeatedly. If the main will not stay on, or the panel looks, smells or sounds abnormal, leave it alone and call for service.

How do I know if I need an electrician or just new electronics?

If only a device failed and nothing else seems wrong, it may be just the device. If you notice smells, heat, marks, tripping breakers or multiple failures, have the wiring and panel inspected.

If lightning has left your outlets, panel or equipment acting strangely, call (954) 602-0050 and describe what you noticed. Standard jobs are quoted by phone before dispatch. Complex jobs are quoted on site and carry a service call charge, and the electrician comes to you. Urgent problems can use our 24-Hour Emergency Line.