the sky lit up, and then Meryl said, "What is that noise?" She was not talking about the thunder.

There was a whining noise. A motor noise coming from the front of the van. Was the van engine off? Of course, the engine was off. Where was the noise coming from. We started searching around. What might make such a noise - and it started with the clap of thunder! Was there a surge on the electric line? If there was the power/surge protector would have shut down all power. I pushed the window curtain out of the way and looked outside - the light on the unit was still green. The air conditioner was still working. The television was still working. And the high pitched noise continued. Whatshut off the air conditioner. No change. I made sure the ceiling fan was off - it was. I turned on the furnace switch as that has a motor also and the noise was centered right around the inside furnace vent. No change in the noise. I turned the furnace off. The whining continued. We went around the inside of the van again and kept listening at the furnace vent as the location was just too close. Then suddenly it stopped and a second later it started again - higher pitched at first and then whirred on as it had been.

"OK", I said, "I am going outside!" I was going to see if I could find the location of the noise from outside. Meryl insisted on coming and