Gretchen Flowers stood at the spot where a lightning strike left the ground through a tree root in her parents’ front yard in the Lee’s Chapel Community, then traveled into the shoe she is holding in her left hand.

The severe storm season, which arrived early in this region this year, has already claimed the lives of many people throughout the country and state, again showing just how dangerous Mother Nature can be.

Although Clinton County has been fortunate thus far in that no severe storms has caused any loss of life or major property damage, a young Clinton County woman came “within feet” during a developing thunderstorm last Thursday of possibly losing her life, or being severely injured.

Gretchen Flowers of Albany received a shock from a nearby lightning bolt around 5:15 p.m. Thursday, March 16 while at the home of her parents, Jack and Phyllis Flowers, located on Rice Road off Hwy. 738, about three miles southwest of Albany.

Although not directly struck by lightning, Flowers was the recipient of a shock wave from a direct hit on the ground, next to a tree, that she was walking beside. The strike apparently ran from the tree root, up through her leg, and into her head as well, according to her father.

Flowers said his daughter had just gotten off work and came by their home on the way to pick up her children and was walking from the garage next to a tree when the lightning bolt struck.

At the time, the thunderstorms that eventually moved through Clinton County early that evening had not begun in that area, although the lightning preceded the heaviest portion of the storm. “It wasn’t raining,” Jack Flowers told the News in a brief interview over the weekend.

Flowers said the strike that hit the ground next to the tree “knocked dirt from around the ground up onto the roof of the house.” He estimated his daughter was about eight feet from the tree when the lightning bolt hit, probably striking the roots from the tree which he said was blown out of the ground.

Fortunately, despite being extremely shocked by the incident and having problems with hearing and headaches as a result of the incident, Gretchen Flowers escaped what could have been a deadly occurrence.

Flowers’ father said that the sound from the lightning strike, which went through her leg and up her body, “was extremely loud” and caused his daughter hearing problems and painful headaches. She was transported to Clinton County Hospital by private vehicle, where she was kept overnight for observation. She was recovering at her parents home on Saturday morning.

Flowers said that fortunately, his daughter suffered no burn injuries, and was going to have her ears checked by doctors, but added the initial diagnosis indicated there was no ear drum damage.

The severe storm system that moved through last Thursday also resulted in a garage fire on the Matt Foster property in the Green Grove area of Clinton County. The building had been struck by lightning.

Albany Fire Department responded to the scene shortly before 6 p.m., when the storm was at its fiercest in some location.

Fire Chief Robert Roeper said that the garage was not totaled but the building and some of its contents was damaged. The fire department was on the scene for about an hour and-a-half to extinguish the blaze and no injuries were reported.

The incidents noted here are a constant reminder of how important it is to take precautions in severe weather, whether it be tornados, thunderstorms, flash flooding, etc. as safety measures should be taken in these situations.

During severe weather, especially during storms that contain frequent lightning, it’s always a good precaution to stay indoors until the storm system has passed through.