[reneherse]

Living in storm prone regions for most of my life has given me the same habit. All my sensitive electronics get unplugged when storms approach.

Two of my family members have had devices fried by lightning strikes over the years, and not even in regions known for the worst electrical storms.

I keep some portable battery packs handy in case I need to charge a phone, and if I'm working will switch to my laptop and tablet screens.

Of course, one can't conveniently unplug everything (HVAC, big kitchen appliances, etc.) but it's easy enough to safeguard work and lifestyle electronics.

Turning the TV off and listening to the storm is usually a nice change of pace, too.

[bamboozled]

I'm pretty sure you can just buy various surge protection systems for this, am I wrong?

What if you're out somewhere, do you drive home in a bad storm and unplug it all?

[reneherse]

> What if you're out somewhere, do you drive home in a bad storm and unplug it all?

If we're traveling overnight we'll unplug things before leaving, but otherwise, no rushing home out of concern for the TV :)

[keepamovin]

A defining characteristic of lightning is that it jumps the gaps (ie, all the air between the cloud and earth), so I believe it will jump right over surge protection.