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Lightning Strikes

Kondoru said:
How are they caused?
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Persistent traces of high voltage discharges into an insulating medium typically display this branching / fractal pattern. Such traces are called Lichtenberg figures.

Lichtenberg scars are superficial / surface skin lesions resulting from exposure to high-voltage discharge. The most common explanation is that they are caused by burst capillaries in the skin along the branching paths of the discharge.
 
[Video]
Lightning strike hits Bolton house 'melting' the curtains
4 November 2013 Last updated at 10:57 GMT

A lightning bolt hit a house in Bolton, blowing a hole in the roof before it travelled down the chimney, exploded in the fireplace and "melted" the curtains.
Margaret Hart, 70, and her husband had to stay with a neighbour after the strike destroyed the fuse box and blew light switches off the walls.

Repairs are being carried out to the house in the Breightmet area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ma ... r-24802263
 
Heard several loud cracks of thunder this morning, about 5 or 6 o'clock....

No trains on Falmouth to Truro line due to lightning strike
8:42am Tuesday 7th January 2014 in Falmouth/Penryn .

A replacement bus service is running between Truro and Falmouth Docks due to signalling problem. Rail tickets are being accepted on First Devon and Cornwall number 88 bus services.
The signalling problem has been caused by a lightning strike.

There is no estimate for when a normal service will resume.

There are also delays of up to 40 minutes on the CrossCountry service between Penzance and Plymouth due to signalling problem at Bodmin Parkway.

There is no estimate for when a normal service will resume.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/fp ... ng_strike/
 
Lightning strike 'shatters' tree and takes out power to Falmouth restaurant.
By WBCraig.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014.

A LIGHTNING strike ‘shattered’ a tree which took out the power supply of a Falmouth restaurant during Tuesday’s storm, melting outside lights and smashing a street lamp.

The lightning strike hit a tree in the car park of the Fourwinds Inn on Dracaena Avenue at 5:30am.
“I heard a loud bang and then a clap,” said landlord Nick Swan. “I thought the pub had been hit, it was that close.
“The tree just blew up. I have never seen anything like it. There were burn marks on the tree.”

The eight car park lights in the car park “melted” according to Mr Swan and a 20-foot length of tree was “flung” into the street, smashing a street lamp.
“It could have [been] nasty if it was during the day and there were school children around,” he said.

The power was restored by electricians at 2:30pm and tree surgeons cleared up the debris.
There was no-one else in the restaurant, which closed for the whole of Tuesday. It re-opened on Wednesday.

http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Lightening- ... story.html

I went past there twice on a bus yesterday, but I never noticed anything as both times I was on the wrong side of the bus!
 
Photos Capture Exact Moment Woman Was Struck Dead by Lightning

A photojournalist was at the right place at the right time to capture the worst possible outcome for a woman standing on the beach during a thunderstorm.

Photographer Rogério Soares was snapping photos of the stormy coast of São Paulo state for Brazilian daily A Tribuna, when he spotted a 36-year-old tourist Rosangela Biavati running toward the beach.

He managed to take a single photo of the woman before she was struck and killed by a lightning bolt.

That, too, was caught on Soares' camera.

According to A Tribuna, Biavati and her companions ignored warnings that were clearly in place against approaching the water.

But a climatologist who spoke with Globo's G1 news portal said those warning often aren't enough.

"People are really anxious about going to the beach and don't listen to safety recommendations," said Rodolfo Bonafim. "Ideally the place should be cleared, and entry should be forbidden during a thunderstorms."
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http://gawker.com/photos-capture-exact- ... 1501795683

:(
 
Thor Rules!

Rio's Christ the Redeemer statue's thumb chipped in storm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25791938

The Christ the Redeemer statue surrounded by lightning

The statue's arms have a span of 28m (92 feet)

A lightning strike has damaged a thumb of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue.

The thumb on the right hand of the 38m (125ft) statue was hit during a storm on Thursday night, officials said.

Officials from the Archdiocese of Rio, which manages the statue, told Brazilian media that repairs will be made to the statue soon.

It is visited by nearly two million people ever year and in 2010 underwent a $4 million (£2.7m) restoration.

Thursday's storm had one of the highest numbers of lightning strikes recorded in Brazil since the country began monitoring storms in 1999.

The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) told O Globo that the statue is struck by lightning on average between three and five times a year.

The monument was inaugurated on 12 October 1931 on top of Rio's Mt Corcovado and is considered the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world.

Lightning bolts near the Christ the Redeemer statue
Thursday's storm reportedly saw more than 40,000 lighting flashes
The statue's right hand
Church officials told Brazil's O Globo that the thumb had been struck by lighting before
Youths carry the World Youth Day cross during a visit to the Christ the Redeemer statue
The statue is one of Brazil's most iconic landmarks
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Walkers burned in lightning storm in Snowdonia

Two mountain walkers suffered burns to their feet after a lightning strike which left them unable to walk.
The pair lost the feeling in their legs and were rescued near the summit of Aran Fawddwy in Snowdonia on Saturday.
The region had been hit by a sudden hail and thunder storm.

The friends, aged 58 and 37 and from Buckinghamshire, were flown to hospital. One man needed to be carried down the mountain while the other's condition improved and he walked.
They were then flown to hospital in Bangor where they were kept in overnight.
A hospital spokesperson said on Sunday their condition was stable.

Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team was called in after an RAF search and rescue helicopter was initially unable to reach the men because they were above cloud level.

RAF winchman Sgt Dave Currie, who was lowered onto the mountain to assist the other rescuers, said the pair thought the lightning had struck just a couple of feet from them.
He said that after after taking off their boots, the men found their socks had been burned. They had blisters and burns on their feet.

Graham O'Hanlon, from Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team, said: "Initial reports suggested that they had sustained three broken legs between them.
"But it transpired that they had been caught up in a sudden electrical storm.
"The men had both experienced paralysis in the legs when lightning hit the ground about a metre away from their position.
"One man had regained some sensation, although the other remained unable to move his lower body."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-nort ... s-25902599
 
UK storms: Lightning strikes Newquay water supplies

A lightning strike knocked out water supplies to 66 homes in Cornwall.
The strike burst a mains pipe in Henver Road, Newquay during stormy weather at about 20:15 GMT on Wednesday.

South West Water said it had restored supplies to all affected homes in Newquay by 04:55 GMT on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for the company thanked customers for their patience and apologised for any inconvenience caused.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-26169567

Modern water pipes are plastic, and buried underground, so how did the lightning find this pipe? Perhaps it was an old iron one?
 
Are lightning deaths increasing?
By Navin Singh Khadka
Environment reporter, BBC World Service
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26554974

Lightning near Rio de Janeiro

In Brazil lightning strikes are increasing - and so are the casualties

Lightning appears to be killing and injuring increasing numbers of people in developing countries, meteorologists and experts say.

The total casualties could even be higher than other weather-related disasters like floods, landslides and droughts.

"The frequency of lightning has somehow increased from what it used to be," says Michael Nkalubo, commissioner at Meteorological Department of Uganda, a country where lightning storms are common.

"I cannot say that a study has been carried out on this but I am saying this on the basis of my general observation.

Continue reading the main story
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There may be more people killed or injured by lightning than most other natural hazards”

Prof Colin Price
Tel Aviv University
"It is something increasing every year and we think this is a manifestation of climate change but we also need to establish whether deforestation has also contributed."

South Africa is another country in the African continent where lightning-related deaths and injuries are or the rise, officials say.

In South East Asia too experts believe lightning incidents and casualties are going up.

"It is a growing problem in the region," said Hartono Zainal Abidin, a lightning protection expert in Malaysia.



"Lightning incidents are indeed going up and so are the deaths and injuries but the problem is many countries in the region including Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand don't even have proper experts and so the issue is left unaddressed."

Meteorologists in South Asia have also noticed the trend.

"My observation is that in the last few years, we have seen increasing cases of lightning," said Shamsuddin Ahmed, deputy director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

"Of course, it is not a big disaster like cyclone, but we cannot ignore it and we should take up special programmes to study this phenomena."

Scientist Osmar Pinto Junior of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research said lightning in Brazil and other parts of Latin America has been on the rise and so have the casualties.

Meteorologists from the developing world say lightning incidents and their impacts remain under-reported as they are sporadic, making them difficult to record.

Some scientists believe that, with the increase in global temperature, thunderstorms and lightning will grow more common.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the supreme authority in climate science, has said: "It is generally expected that lightning will increase in a warmer climate, although a study for the 2030 climate finds no global increase but instead a shift from the tropics to mid-latitudes."

Professor Colin Price, a lightning and climate researcher at Tel Aviv University, says climate models show about 10% increase in lightning for every one degree of warming.

Lightning in Montana
Lightning is increasing even though thunderstorms are not - a perplexing trend
More than a hundred lightning bolts hit the earth every second, experts estimate, and more than 70% of those take place in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

Prof Price said: "The underdeveloped world is where you have the maximum frequency of lightning and thunderstorms - in places like the Central African Republic and DR Congo, the Amazon region of South America, the Indonesian islands and Borneo in South East Asia.

"When you add the figures up, there may even be more people killed or injured by lightning than most of the other natural hazards we have on the earth today."

Meteorologist Ron Holle, who works for a Finnish company Vaisala that makes weather equipment, also said lightning fatalities were high in Africa.

Continue reading the main story
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Under a changed climate scenario there will be more lightning”

Prof Giles Harrison
University of Reading
"In the last 10 years our finding in Malawi, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and some parts of South Africa is that the lightning fatality rate is what it used to be in the US 100 years ago.

"We have seen a major reduction, to almost a zero, in the developed world. In contrast, in the developing world, people still are involved in labour intensive agriculture and are living in houses that have no lightning protection.

"So it is mainly a population and lifestyle issue."

Professor Price agreed that rising population is a factor.

"We passed the seven billion mark last year so there are more people out there who can be hit by lightning.

"We cannot separate the climate and population effects. But, whatever is happening, the observations on the ground are correct that there are more and more deaths and injuries due to lightning."

Not all scientists agree with that.

"I haven't seen the statistics to show that actually the total number of deaths or events from lightning is increasing," says Prof Robert H Holzworth of the University of Washington, who also heads the World Wide Lightning Location Network that has about 80 detection stations.

London Eye struck by lightning, July 2013
"What we found was that in the last several years, the number of thunderstorms in the world seems to be relatively stable. But the number of lightning strikes we are detecting with our network has been zooming up.

"And that's because we are more efficient at detecting lightning and not necessarily because there is more global lightning."

Experts say the science of lightning is quite complicated.

"Under a changed climate scenario there will be more lightning but there is a sort of paradox between drier environments where there will be more lightning and less rain," said Giles Harrison, professor of atmospheric physics at the University of Reading.

"So maybe what happens is we get much more explosive thunderstorm events which will generate a lot of lightning but overall our rainfall rates are not particularly changed.

"Droughts associated with El Nino seem to be also associated with increases in lightning and that's the contradiction and the paradox to think about. It's not a simple picture."

Experts say politicians and policy makers' indifference to the subject has not helped either.

"They immediately respond to disasters that impact many people at the same time," said Prof Arun Kulshrestha who heads the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries.

"The total lightning casualty figure may be more than that of other disasters but they are always in ones and twos, so politicians' positions are not at stake and governments don't fall."

Enlightened forest

Luis Barrucho
BBC Brasil

The replacement of the forest by urban areas has been causing an increase in the lightning activity in the Amazon region, Brazilian researchers suggest.

According to a study led by scientist Osmar Pinto Junior of Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, the city of Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, has seen a 50% rise in lightning strikes in the past 30 years, reaching a current rate of 13.5 strikes per km² per year.

Looking at satellite images, Mr Pinto Junior and his team have found that, over the city, the lightning activity is larger than that in neighbour regions.

"Our results indicate that such changes have been caused by what we call Urban Heat Island (UHI)", he said.

"While in the last three decades the surface air temperature in the tropics has increased by approximately 0.4C, it has increased by 0.7C in Manaus."

Pinto Junior explains that this phenomenon occurs when green areas are replaced by buildings and other urban features, pushing the temperatures up and prompting more lightning storms.

Although "very likely", he says, it is still unclear whether the lightning enhancement has been causing more fires in the Amazon forest.

The research was published in the American Journal of Climate Change in December.
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krakenten said:
And God be thanked that all on board were safe!
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It's when you're 'earthed' you're most at risk - then the electrical current from the lightning can pass through you to the ground and kill you.

But up in the air there's just electrical potential (volts), not current (amps), so provided the plane keeps flying you should be OK.
 
Solar wind 'triggers lightning on Earth'
By Rebecca Morelle, Science correspondent, BBC News

Activity on the sun is sparking lightning strikes here on Earth, a study suggests.
Scientists have found that when gusts of high-speed solar particles enter our atmosphere, the number of lightning bolts increases.
The research is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Because solar activity is closely monitored by satellites, it may now be possible to forecast when these hazardous storms will hit.
Lead researcher Dr Chris Scott, from the University of Reading, said: "Lightning represents a significant hazard.
"There's something like 24,000 people struck by lightning each year, so having any understanding or advanced warning of the severity of lightning storms has to be useful."

As the Sun rotates, the fiery ball of plasma hurls out charged particles that travel at between 400-800km a second (900,000 to 1.8 million miles per hour).
The arrival of these solar winds in the atmosphere can trigger displays of the Northern Lights, but this research shows how they could influence our weather too.
"The solar wind is not continuous, it has slow and fast streams. Because the Sun rotates, these streams can be sent out behind each other - so if you have a fast solar wind catching up with a slow solar wind, it causes a concentration to occur," said Dr Scott.

The scientists found that when the speed and intensity of the solar winds increased, so too did the rate of lightning strikes.
The team said the turbulent weather lasted for more than a month after the particles hit the Earth.
Using data from northern Europe, the researchers found there was an average of 422 lightning strikes in the 40 days after the high-speed solar wind arrived, compared with 321 strikes in the 40 days prior.

The finding was surprising, said Dr Scott, because it had been thought that an increase in the solar wind would have the opposite effect.
He explained: "It's unexpected, because these streams of particles bring with them an enhanced magnetic field - and this shields Earth from the very high-energy cosmic rays from outside of the Solar System - these are generated when supernovae explode, and they accelerate particles up to the speed of light."
Previous research has shown that cosmic rays from space can boost the rate of lightning, and it had been thought that an increased shielding effect from the solar particles would cause a decrease in the number of strikes.

"Instead what we actually saw was a marked increase in lightning. It turns out these solar winds bring with them a slightly lower energy population of particle - and these are enhancing the lighting rate," Dr Scott said.
The team is not exactly sure of the mechanism, but said that the particles may be penetrating storm clouds, making it easier for them to discharge electrical energy as a bolts of lightning.

"What we need to do now is to track these energetic particles down through the atmosphere, to see if we can see where they end up," said Dr Scott.
"We know these particles aren't energetic enough to reach the ground, so they must be stopped somewhere in the lower atmosphere, and we need to know where this is."

However, while the questions of how still need to be answered, there is plenty of information about when the particles arrive, which could help with storm forecasting.
"These solar wind streams are very predictable. We know the Sun rotates every 27 days, so there is a very strong recurrence rate. If we see them at one time, we know 27 days later it will be back again," said Dr Scott.

While the data was collected in Europe, the researchers believe the effect is global.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27406358
 
Lightning strikes the Shard during London storm

Several bolts of lightning hit London during a brief thunderstorm earlier, including one captured over the Shard in south London.
The 87-storey building is western Europe's tallest building standing at 310m (1,016ft) and is located next to London Bridge station.

The storm also affected phone lines in Hillingdon and Breakspear Crematorium in west London was struck by lighting.

Cable car services were suspended for an hour because of high winds.

[video]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-27529745
 
Chichester fire after lightning strikes house

A terrace house in Chichester was set on fire and damaged after it was struck by lighting.
Firefighters were called to the blaze in Mumford Place after lightning struck the building's chimney stack, causing damage to all floors of the property.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said four fire engines were sent to tackle the fire at 13:20 BST.

No one was hurt but a dog and parrot had to be rescued from the house.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-27517182

I wonder what the parrot had to say about that! :lol:
 
Lightning strike sets Devon house ablaze

A house in Devon has been badly damaged in a fire caused by a lightning strike.
The property on North Road in South Molton was hit by the lightning bolt at 04:30 BST and several fire crews and support teams were sent to the scene.
Firefighters say parts of the first floor and roof are still on fire but steady progress is being made to bring the blaze under control.

David Bartlett from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said the property had been evacuated.
He said: "The building was struck by lightning which caused a fire in the roof space. The fire took hold and affected the roof; it was severely damaged but we hope it is just the roof space.

"It is not common for a fire to break out after a house being struck by lightning - it was unlucky it took hold and ignited something flammable."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-27746883
 
We've got a huge haystack fire going on near our village - it was struck by lightning yesterday morning, and both ends of the stack are alight. All they can do is control it and wait until it burns itself out. :(

Smoke billows across Waterbeach area as large straw stack struck by lightning on former RAF base burns

Written byCHRIS HAVERGAL
Stack fire at former barracks in Waterbeach. June 7, 2014.

A large stack of straw went up in smoke after being struck by lightning.

Two fire crews from Cambridge were called to the former barracks and RAF base at Waterbeach at 7.10am today after smoke was spotted billowing across the area.

A fire service spokeswoman said crews discovered a stack fire involving a “large quantity” of straw.

She said: “The stack fire appeared to have been struck by lightning.

“Firefighters are at the scene currently working with managers on site to control the fire and contain it.

“We will be monitoring this incident throughout the day. We anticipate being here for a number of hours.”
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Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambrid ... z343WyTvlv
 
monops said:
We've got a huge haystack fire going on near our village - it was struck by lightning yesterday morning, and both ends of the stack are alight. All they can do is control it and wait until it burns itself out. :(

Smoke billows across Waterbeach area as large straw stack struck by lightning on former RAF base burns

Written byCHRIS HAVERGAL
Stack fire at former barracks in Waterbeach. June 7, 2014.

A large stack of straw went up in smoke after being struck by lightning.

Two fire crews from Cambridge were called to the former barracks and RAF base at Waterbeach at 7.10am today after smoke was spotted billowing across the area.

A fire service spokeswoman said crews discovered a stack fire involving a “large quantity” of straw.

She said: “The stack fire appeared to have been struck by lightning.

“Firefighters are at the scene currently working with managers on site to control the fire and contain it.

“We will be monitoring this incident throughout the day. We anticipate being here for a number of hours.”
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Read more: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambrid ... z343WyTvlv
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Still burning...
 
Lightning strike shocks woman filming storm in Tunbridge Wells

[Video: The footage shows the lightning strike feet away from Ms Ford-Crush]

A woman was thrown on to her bed when lightning struck a few feet from where she was filming a storm.
Susannah Ford-Crush, a photographer from Tunbridge Wells, was filming from her open bedroom window when a bolt of lightning hit scaffolding on a house next door.
She said her skin was left smelling smoky after the strike.
She said: "I was absolutely petrified, I'm still shaking now and I get static shocks when I touch metal."

In Gravesend, a man suffered burns to his hands as he was putting out a fire in his loft in Calderwood after lightning struck the house.
Roy Thomas said he and his partner Tracey Shelton and her 15-year-old son Toby were woken by a "massive bang" and the burglar alarm going off.
"As soon as I opened the loft hatch I could see the flames roaring away but the whole space was full of smoke," he said.
"I tried to smother the flames with towels and bedding but it was too hot and I burnt my hands.
"Thankfully, the last wet beach towel I threw on it managed to smother the flames."
Mr Thomas was treated in hospital for his burns.

Ms Ford-Crush's footage shows lightning and torrential rain.
"I was leaning out of my window videoing the electrical storm which was absolutely wonderful to see.
"There's some scaffolding on the house next to me and unfortunately with the scaffolding sticking right up into the air, the lightning came down and I've had an indirect hit.
"It knocked me back on to my bed and I was only about four or five feet from the actual hit itself," she said.

Ms Ford-Crush said: "I'm a very lucky woman - I will be hiding in my closet if lightning comes again." 8)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-28364856
 
Reassuringly (or not) the British summer follows its traditional pattern - a few hot days, then the thunderstorms!

Train delays and cancellations continue after lightning strikes

Rail passengers in parts of southern England and Wales are facing further travel problems after stormy weather caused "major disruption" on Friday.

First Great Western cancelled a number of Saturday morning trains including several in to London Paddington.

South West Trains said engineers had worked though the night to avoid further delays after Friday's problems.

Lightning strikes and signalling failures had led to a series of delays and cancellations.
Services running between London Paddington and Reading, Swindon, Bristol and south Wales were affected by a strike at Twyford, Berkshire, at about 16:00 BST.
A strike in the Surbiton area of south west London also caused problems on services running from London Waterloo to Surrey and Exeter.

First Great Western has cancelled 10 services scheduled for Saturday morning "due to poor weather conditions earlier".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28498531
 
EasyJet plane struck by lightning
An easyJet plane flying from Bristol was struck by lightning today and forced to make a diversion
3:06PM BST 25 Jul 2014

Flight EZY6025 was carrying 154 passengers on the way to Barcelona but had to land at Reus Airport, in Spain, instead.
The lightning struck during the plane’s descent. Passengers described the incident as terrifying.

Izzy Ferris told the Bristol Evening Post, "This storm came out of nowhere. We were hit by lightning, it was absolutely terrifying. There was a massive loud bang and a lot of flashing.
"Everyone is fine but a lot of the women were screaming and crying and the cabin crew were flung down the plane."

EasyJet said planes are equipped to safely withstand lightning.
"The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority and the aircraft landed safely at Reus at 10:30am local time," a spokesman said.

“The aircraft was hit by lightning during its descent. At no point was the safety of the flight, passengers or crew onboard compromised. Passengers disembarked as normal and will continue their onward journey to Barcelona by road. We apologise for any inconvenience experienced."
The carrier said it has scheduled a full inspection of the aircraft.

Planes are hit by lightning far more frequently than you might think, said Patrick Smith, a pilot and author of Cockpit Confidential.
“An individual jet liner is struck about once every two years, on average”, he said, explaining that aeroplanes are designed accordingly. “Once in a while there’s exterior damage – a superficial entry or exit wound – or minor injury to the plane’s electrical systems, but a strike typically leaves little or no evidence.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/trave ... tning.html
 
Who, what, why: What happens when lightning hits the sea?
Who, What, Why - The Magazine answers the questions behind the news

A man died and several other people were injured in a thunderstorm off the coast of California. What happens when lightning hits the sea, asks Justin Parkinson.

If you are in the sea and a thunderstorm looks likely in the area, there are two ways to cut the risk of getting hit - get out and find some shelter, or swim deeper.

A typical lightning flash measures about 300 million volts and 30,000 amps, according to the US National Weather Service - enough to kill.
Most of the electrical discharge spreads horizontally rather than vertically. This is bad news for people, who tend to float or swim on or near the surface.
Fish, swimming beneath the surface, are less likely to be hurt than humans

The lightning current is likely to radiate across the surface. Various different estimates have been given for the distance over which it would dissipate to the point where it would not be a harmful to a person.

"I wouldn't recommend betting your life on that kind of calculation," says Giles Sparrow, author of Physics in Minutes. "If you get out of the water and can't find shelter, it's best to crouch into a ball, rather than lay flat on the floor, as this also raises risks. If you stay in the water, you could try to go deep, but it's unlikely you can hold your breath for long enough to avoid the danger."

Fish, which usually move around at greater depths, are safer than human swimmers. Protruding heads or even entire bodies, such as those presented by surfers or paddle boarders, could put people in greater danger.

"If you are in the open sea, rather like standing in an open field, you might become a target during a storm," says Jon Shonk, a meteorologist at the University of Reading. "Lightning takes the path of least resistance."

Boats can be fitted with lightning conductors, which direct the charge into the sea, while avoiding their most vulnerable parts, such as passenger areas or equipment rooms. It is recommended that these are fitted.

Research by Nasa shows lightning is more likely to hit land than sea and that it is rare for strikes to occur in deep ocean areas. Waters just off coasts are more often affected.

Risks also vary according to seasons. "You expect more strikes nearer to land because that's where the most heat and updrafts and storms build up, especially in the summer," says Shonk. "That can change in winter, but that's obviously a time when there are fewer people in the sea."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazin ... r-28521789
 
Crowborough clock tower struck by lightning

A shopping centre clock tower in East Sussex has caught fire after being struck by lightning.
Firefighters were called to the Original Factory Shop at the Fernbank Centre in Crowborough when the fire broke out earlier.
The clock face was knocked to the ground by the strike.

Crews said the High Street was expected to remain closed until at least 06:00 BST on Tuesday due to work to make the building safe.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-28748404
 
BOGOTA (Reuters) – A lightning strike in a small indigenous village in mountainous northern Colombia killed at least 11 people who were participating in a community ritual, the army said on Monday.

The incident, which occurred near the town of Guachaca in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountains, left another 13 people seriously injured. The region is home to several indigenous communities.

“A group of indigenous people were participating in a traditional community meeting and a bolt of lightning struck, leaving 11 dead and 13 injured,” Colonel Jorge Santo Domingo, head of a nearby army unit, told Reuters. ...

Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2014/10/lightning- ... EfAzVJi.99
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It's a pity they don;t say what the "community ritual" was.

Tough thing to happen to a small community. :(
 
They were invoking Nyerlathotep.

Maybe he was feeling cranky?
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...INUTES-amazing-Lake-District-coincidence.html

"A spate of lighting strikes across the Lake District sparked a dramatic series of mountain rescues by the crew of a Royal Navy helicopter, it emerged today.

Four hill walkers, in three different locations, were airlifted to hospital following an electric storm in the national park yesterday afternoon.

The helicopter, from HMS Gannet at Prestwick, Scotland, had initially been called to a separate incident involving a man with a suspected shoulder injury at Langdale, Cumbria.

But at around 3pm, as reports of lightning emerged, the crew were instead deployed to help a hiker who had been struck at Grasmoor.

Within 35 minutes they had been called out to two other hillside locations - Crag Hill and Whiteless Pike – and rescued three more victims of lightning.

All the casualties were dropped off at Buttermere Hotel in Buttermere where they were then taken by ambulance to West Cumberland Hospital.

A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: ‘The first incident was at 3pm when a male walker seemed to be suffering from the effects of shock from a strike.

‘He was being airlifted when we immediately got a call to a party of three people on Crag Hill, two of whom were injured.’

The spokesman continued: ‘The crew were then called to a party of six at Whiteless Pike and one injured woman was airlifted and then taken to hospital.’

It is thought none of the casualties were seriously injured.

Mountain rescue teams from Cockermouth and Keswick also assisted in the rescue operation.

Cockermouth mountain rescue team leader Mike Park said they were called to the strikes at Grasmoor and Whiteless Pike."
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People walk and climb through that which they would never fly nor sail, but this seems way beyond the extravagant confidence of the studied fan or the projected bravado of professional amateurs. These expeditions are simply well-equipped navigations into sub-conscious suicides...the leaders of these insanities must consider themselves bigger and better than the mountains and the skies.
 
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