#lightning

#lightning

Lightning Strike Blows Up ToiletNo, what you’re seeing above is not the result of eating an extra serving of my homemade chili. If that had been the case, there would also be a hole in the floor and more blast damage on the walls and cabinet.News 6 Tulsa reports that this is a bathroom in an apartment building in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, on May 4th. The toilet was unoccupied at the time of the strike. In fact, the entire apartment was vacant, but was going to be rented out the next day. Firefighters responded to the strike and took this photo.-via Super Punch | Photo: Okmulgee Fire Department#lightning #toilet

477-mile Long Lightning Bolt Crossed 3 US States and Set a New World Record for Longest Lightning FlashA lightning bolt that lit up the skies of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas set a new world record for the longest lightning flash in the world. It extended a total of 477.2 miles (768 kilometers). The bolt was a rare instance because lightning usually just lasts under a second and extends over ten miles.Professor Randall Cerveny, World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) rapporteur of weather and climate extremes, said that the almost 500-mile wide lightning bolt was an extraordinary record from lightning flash events. In addition, Cerveny said that more instances of greater extremes, such as this lightning bolt, will exist and be recorded in the future thanks to space-based lightning detection technology.Image credits: Micah Tindell, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration#lightning #science #worldrecord #lightningbolt #meteorology

Astronaut Photographed a Lightning Strike with a "Transient Luminous Event" over Europe from SpaceAbsolutely stunning. Also scary. Very scary.This blue blob surrounded by the dark and starry mass of land on Earth is actually a lightning strike that was seen in the upper atmosphere. The ‘transient luminous event’ was observed over Europe.Events like this are rarely observed, but astronaut Andreas Mogensen captured the image from the International Space Station. Surprisingly, his location was very well-suited to capture the flash of light, as the Station flies over the equator where there are more thunderstorms.Image credit: Thomas Pesquet via Flickr #Thuderstorms #InternationalSpaceStation #Lightning #TransientLuminuousEvent 

Teens Snapping Selfie Captured the Exact Moment They Got Hit by a Lightning BoltSiblings Rachel, Isobel and Andrew Jobson were bicycling when they took shelter under a tree near Hampton Court Palace in South London last week. The trio had stopped to get out of the rain and to let Rachel take a bathroom break. When she returned, her sister decided to take a picture of the three of them in the rain, when a lightning hit the three of them.“The picture of us at the moment the lightning strike happened was at 17:05,” said Isobel to the BBC. “I took a picture of us smiling and we then wanted a sad picture in the rain. All of a sudden I was on the ground and couldn't hear anything apart from this high-pitched buzzing. My whole right arm was numb and I couldn't move it.”Rachel added that she suffered burns on her thigh and stomach and that the lightning left a Lichtenberg figure mark … but the trio survived. Paramedics took them to a nearby hospital, where they were treated and released hours later.Images: Isobel Jobson#lightning #photography #LichtenbergFigure

Catatumbo Lightning and The 'Everlasting Storm' Where Lightning Strikes Thousands of Times a NightIf you don’t like lightning storms, this is NOT the place for you.The mouth of the Catatumbo River where it empties into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is known for the Catatumbo lightning phenomenon, or - if you’re into dramatic stuff - the “everlasting storm.” That’s actually not that big of an exaggeration: on average, the area has 300 lightning storm days per year.Indeed, Lake Maracaibo holds the Guinness Book of World Records for “highest concentration of lightning” as it gets about 250 lightning flashes per square kilometer every year. During the peak of the wet season around October, there’s an average of 28 lightning flashes each minute for up to nine hours!So what’s the reason behind the Catatumbo Lightning? Physicist Ángel G. Muñoz of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explains:All thunderstorms follow a formula: rapidly rising warm air collides with moist air. Unstable air and moisture are key, and Catatumbo Lightning gets a boost from a unique topography. Mountain ridges cup three sides of Lake Maracaibo, leaving a narrow window open north to the Gulf of Venezuela. The inflowing Caribbean Sea provides an endless supply of warm water, while the hot tropical sun pulls additional moisture from the lake. At sunset, strong winds whip the mountains, jolting warm air up to form cumulonimbus clouds that rage inside. When water droplets of humid air collide with ice crystals from the cold air, it produces static charges that build up. The release discharges a zigzag of electrical energy strong enough to light 100 million bulbs. Ten minutes of Catatumbo Lightning could illuminate all of South America.#lightning #storm #CatatumboLightning #LakeMaracaibo #Venezuela #worldrecordImage: Thechemicalengineer

Lightning Strikes a CarStorm tracker Carl Hobi (@pattrn) was driving behind a sports utility vehicle on a highway near Waverly, Kansas, during a thunderstorm when he captured this amazing moment of lightning striking the car.In an interview with Newsweek, Hobi explained what happened:"They were in shock and first thing they did was make sure the kids were ok and they were relieved that everyone was just fine," Hobi said of the parents."The car was dead and stuck in gear and we could not get it in to [sic] neutral to push off the road. It will most likely be considered Totaled," Hobi said.#lightning #car #thunderstorm