Stoney River Drive

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Hamilton County deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey responded to Stoney River Drive in Harrison Monday night after residents reported that lightning had struck a residential roadway. Hamilton County deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey... Photo by HCSO Deputy Kevin Ritchey

Hamilton County deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey responded to Stoney River Drive in Harrison Monday night after residents reported that lightning had struck a residential roadway. Hamilton County deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey... Photo by HCSO Deputy Kevin Ritchey

Hamilton County deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey responded to Stoney River Drive in Harrison Monday night after residents reported that lightning had struck a residential roadway. Hamilton County deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey... Photo by HCSO Deputy Kevin Ritchey

Hamilton County deputies got to see firsthand just how powerful Mother Nature can be when she decides to harness the full power of lightning, according to a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office news release.

Deputies Jason Smith and Kevin Ritchey responded to Stoney River Drive in Harrison about 8 p.m. Monday after residents reported that lightning had struck a residential roadway.

The deputies were astonished to find the lightning strike had damaged the road so extensively that it was not passable by vehicles. "We were both truly astonished by the destruction to the roadway that was caused by this bolt of lightning," stated Ritchey. "It was definitely a first for both of us." Residents of the community also were amazed at by the damage caused by the lightning strike.

The deputies immediately notified the Hamilton County Highway Department and secured the damaged roadway until crews arrived to prevent motorists from damaging their cars.

Lightning strikes to roads are rare, but do happen. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one lightning bolt can produce 100 million to 1 billion volts and contains billions of watts.