Good to have you back! I've seen lightning in the winter, but it's not that common. Sounds like you had a whomper of a storm!
Thanks Al and yes, it was a bad one and the wind caused wide spread damage and the lighting struck many phone cables and in some cases it actually came into houses. There is so much repair work to do that BT., (British Telecom) have sent a team of engineers up from England to help with the backlog, Jeff.
Lightning storms used to be easy money when I was in college. I fixed transmitters for commercial radio stations, and lots of home stereos were there to be repaired too. Sort of opportunistic, but the customers were always glad to see me show up!
Glad your back, I hope your home didn't cop any storm/lightning damage. I can remember as a phone tech, being sent to repair a phone service that was hit by lightning. It blasted the lead covered cable into tiny lead and copper balls that were driven into the paint-work and left a big black burn mark down the wall to the phone (that didn't survive either)
We're having deep cold (sub-zero Farenheit) here. I volunteer for the Red Cross to help folks find shelter if their homes are damaged or lost. Had a phone conversation with the coordinator last night talking about what to do to be ready ourselves to be able to respond promptly. My car has a 400W block heater in the engine to pre-heat it for easier starts, but drifting show can block the driveway. I hope that your neighbors were able to either stay warm in their home, or have somewhere secure to relocate to while repairs are done.
