General Weather/Earth Sciences Topics > Lightning

Questions about lighting

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Ahill:
So I recently put up a mast on the roof to mount a pws and being in the lightning capital and witnessing lightning strikes in the immediate area every year obviously lightning is a concern.
I understand mental doesn’t attract lightning but rather the tallest and pointiest objects around. The mast would be the tallest around the building aside from trees next to it but the  1.5” diameter pole similar to a flag pole is not exactly pointy.
Lightning rods placed on roofs I noticed have a distinct real pointy shape, so would a pole  that is more round than pointy at the top not be as bad for attracting lightning as say a very thin point or does it not make any difference in regards to lighting.
Out of caution i did run grounding cable to a ground rod but curious if the shape of the mast is making a difference in making more of “channel” if you will going up vs something else like a board that is more broad.
Been trying to learn more and more about lightning and one thing for sure seems nobody can predict what it will do with 100% certainty.
The other concern was if it does go down to the rod how far out across the ground can it affect people and animals standing on the ground. There are many variables that can affect how it acts I understand but for example some farmers put fences around trees to keep livestock a certain distance away as livestock is always being lost not from direct strikes but from standing on the surface near a tree that was struck.
Not sure if there is a simple way to channel the energy towards a certain area from a ground rod or if things like a building slab, foundation will help block or go towards somewhere else.
It always takes the path of least resistance so they say. Has some of the energy ever channeled back upstream and anything that can help make a path of least resistance

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