Ceci Sutter sat down to breakfast later than usual Wednesday morning. The Denton resident had a doctor’s appointment that required her to fast a little longer.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

David Boise prepares to patch a hole in Denton resident Ceci Sutter’s chimney after lightning struck it during a brief storm Wednesday.

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When she got back home to eat, she turned on the television to watch the line of thunderstorms she had seen coming.

On her television screen, the advancing patch of red, yellow and green looked pretty pathetic, she said. That is, until a lightning bolt landed a big punch on her chimney.

As much as the bang scared her, she didn’t realize it had hit her home until she got ready to leave again.

“Then I saw all this mortar debris on my patio,” Sutter said. “It was so bizarre.”

Forecasters warned that some portions of the fast-moving line of storms were traveling 50 mph. In addition to frequent lightning, the storms brought strong winds and warnings of quarter-size hail for western counties. The squall reached Denton County after 10 a.m.

Skies were blue and sunny again by lunchtime.

It wasn’t until after talking to a contractor that Sutter realized how lucky she was.

“He told me usually when lightning hits a chimney, your house burns down,” Sutter said.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .