Tulsa homes damaged by lightning strike: 'It sounded like a bomb went off'

A single bolt of lightning in Tulsa was so powerful that it was heard and felt in surrounding towns. In the neighborhood where it struck, the bolt ruptured several water meters and damaged two homes.

The strike was recorded at 10:10 p.m. in a neighborhood just south of Promenade Mall, and it hit a mature silver maple tree just behind the home where Jason Rafferty lives.

"All of a sudden, it sounded like a bomb went off over our roof, and the house shook, our hearing started ringing, and it felt like a grenade went off, our power went out instantly. We didn't really feel like it had been lightning. We just thought it might have been a tornado or a bomb going off," he said.

Neighbors rushed out to check on each other, according to Tom Rice.

"Everybody went outside, looked up the street, and everybody was looking at their own house. It was so loud we thought we were hit individually. It was a large explosion."

At Rafferty's house, the jolt blasted some bricks off the chimney and blew downspouts into the yard. Rafferty said firefighters speculated the energy traveled through the metal guttering around his house before reaching ground in the water main.

The City of Tulsa responded Monday and Tuesday, replacing several meters, some several houses away, that were damaged by the strike.

Rafferty said he felt fortunate the energy from the strike went largely around his house, and his family inside.

"We're still shocked, and in a way, lucky and grateful," he said.