lightning
A science teacher in North Carolina got the shock of his life last week — when he was nearly struck by a bolt of lightning while recording an incoming storm outside his home.

Shawn Hicks was broadcasting a feed on Facebook Live last Monday as dark, forbidding clouds lurked above his home in Lillington.

"Oh Jesus," Hicks said while surveying the approaching storm. "You can tell it's about to rain by looking at the tops of the trees and how they look white. If you kind of look at this one right here, that's usually a dark green tree but it's white right now. And then all of these are kind of lightish color. I'm safe, I think."


Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning ripped through the sky directly in front of Hicks, just steps away and immediately after he finished his poor prediction about his perceived risk. He then breathlessly ran inside his home and tried to catch his breath after the unexpected jolt that could've killed him.

"Never mind," a smiling Hicks said. "All right. God, it's got me shaking. All right, y'all be safe."

Hicks, a science teacher in Harnett County, said he plans on using the footage during his lesson on weather this fall at Harnett Central Middle School. He told the News & Observer he was hoping to demonstrate on the video was happens when a cold front overtakes a warm front.

"It was close enough," Hicks said when asked how far he was from the lightning bolt. "Once I saw that, I didn't go back outside until the next day. I was good."