would such a storm wipe my HDDs that hold all my private data? No. If they're plugged in to the wall, they might get fried into a powdery crisp. But they wou

would such a storm wipe my HDDs that hold all my private data? No. If they're plugged in to the wall, they might get fried into a powdery crisp. But they wouldn't get merely erased, and if they're not connected to a wall socket they'll be completely fine.