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Lightning Strikes

Perhaps climate change is doing something to the thunderstorms? Getting more deadly?
 
Red Sprites

At first glance, this photo would forgive you for taking it for fireworks in the night sky. But the “fireworks” in the image are actually red sprites – large but weak flashes of light that appear directly above an active thunderstorm system.

The superb photo was taken by photographer Stephane Vetter and was presented as NASA’s astronomical photo of the day.

NASA explained: “A sensitive video camera at the summit of the Vosges in France captured these surprising fireworks over a distant horizon on June 26.

“Generated during intense thunderstorms, this one about 260 kilometers away, the brief and mysterious lightnings are known as red sprites.

“Transient light events are caused by a power failure at altitudes of 50 to 100 kilometers.

“This places them in the mesophere, the coldest layer of the atmosphere on planet Earth. ”

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Tree hit by lightning spews flames

Firefighters in Maine responding to a blaze reported in Wales on Wednesday were shocked to discover a large tree with flames emanating from the length of its trunk after an apparent lightning strike.

An incredible 15-second clip posted by the Wales Fire Department shows the entire cavity of the tree on fire after a bolt of lightning is believed to have “traveled up into the trunk,” department officials said.

short video at link.

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Here's a local survivor...
It is still healthy and growing, and supports a large canopy above ('file too large to download' showing the canopy).
By-the-way, lightning strikes a tree from the top down, it superheats the sappy inside which then explodes - either that, or if the tree is wet on the outside bark, then the lighting earths to ground without causing visible damage.

Lightning tree 4. (2).JPG
 
There used to be a tree like that in Windsor Great Park. I walked inside it when I was a teenager.
I think that was caused by a lightning strike too.
 
The anger of Thor.

Thor! I remember seeing him on TV back in the '80s. He was interviewed and then he blew up a hot water bottle to prove he had the lungs of a god.
 
We had guests over last night and the kids went outside to play around 9pm. They came running back in and said that there was lightning in the sky. I went out to have a look and witnessed 2 massive lightning flashes - you could see the bolts. Curiously though, there was no thunder. The sky was dark but clear. There was no rain but it had rained during the day. The sky was cler enough to see the stars and the moon clearly.

It was a little unsettling to see lightning without thunder or storm. The kids saw 4 or 5 lightning bolts in total.
 
Browsing the forum today, for the first time in a couple of days, I saw this thread had recently been added to and also that I'd contributed to it at some point in the past. 'What could I possibly have said about lightning?' I said to one of the voices in my head. 'Could it have been something about the old belief that being struck by lightning could create a photo of one's surroundings on one's skin?' So I looked back and my memory was jolted by this mention of my nan, then ninety-four:
Speaking to my nan after a particularly ferocious lightning storm on Saturday, she told me that she used to go round and cover all the mirrors in the house during a storm, because apparently they're 'supposed to attract lightning.' :huh: She said she still would if she could, but at ninety-four, by the time she got to them all the storm would have passed. Has anyone else heard of this particular bit of nonsense? Or is it just our family's congenital insanity?
This was a particularly satisfying memory to stumble upon. My nan passed this morning at ninety-eight.
 
Red Sprites

At first glance, this photo would forgive you for taking it for fireworks in the night sky. But the “fireworks” in the image are actually red sprites – large but weak flashes of light that appear directly above an active thunderstorm system.

The superb photo was taken by photographer Stephane Vetter and was presented as NASA’s astronomical photo of the day.



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Stunning
 
Browsing the forum today, for the first time in a couple of days, I saw this thread had recently been added to and also that I'd contributed to it at some point in the past. 'What could I possibly have said about lightning?' I said to one of the voices in my head. 'Could it have been something about the old belief that being struck by lightning could create a photo of one's surroundings on one's skin?' So I looked back and my memory was jolted by this mention of my nan, then ninety-four:

This was a particularly satisfying memory to stumble upon. My nan passed this morning at ninety-eight.

My condolences, take care.
 
Browsing the forum today, for the first time in a couple of days, I saw this thread had recently been added to and also that I'd contributed to it at some point in the past. 'What could I possibly have said about lightning?' I said to one of the voices in my head. 'Could it have been something about the old belief that being struck by lightning could create a photo of one's surroundings on one's skin?' So I looked back and my memory was jolted by this mention of my nan, then ninety-four:

This was a particularly satisfying memory to stumble upon. My nan passed this morning at ninety-eight.
Sorry to hear that. I’m sure that you have very fond memories of her.
 
Thanks all! As far as we can tell, she passed quite suddenly in her old armchair. The lady who first informed me that it was a common belief mirrors in the house attracted lightning. I'd forgotten about it, but I'm pleased to have been reminded.
 
Thanks all! As far as we can tell, she passed quite suddenly in her old armchair. The lady who first informed me that it was a common belief mirrors in the house attracted lightning. I'd forgotten about it, but I'm pleased to have been reminded.
Hi 'PeteByrdie;' Yes, memories are valuable things to each person. I have heard this mention of turning mirrors to face the wall, as well as such other stuff before.
Probably the reason behind it isn't any kind of practical one, more that if mirrors are left as normal then the flash of lighting is intensified in the house/room, much the same as closing the curtains etc. Though one thing these intense storms seem do do, is lock-in an intense memory of the event - might be an attachment to how you recall that memory on that occasion of you with your Nan.
 
Browsing the forum today, for the first time in a couple of days, I saw this thread had recently been added to and also that I'd contributed to it at some point in the past. 'What could I possibly have said about lightning?' I said to one of the voices in my head. 'Could it have been something about the old belief that being struck by lightning could create a photo of one's surroundings on one's skin?' So I looked back and my memory was jolted by this mention of my nan, then ninety-four:

This was a particularly satisfying memory to stumble upon. My nan passed this morning at ninety-eight.

My sympathies to you and your family, Pete.
 
Lightning killed 2 giraffes in South Africa: Were they doomed by their height?

One of the giraffes — a 5-year-old female — had a fractured skull and a broken ossicone (giraffes' knoblike horns), indicating that she died after a lightning strike directly to the head.

There are four ways that lightning strikes can kill an animal, according to Schiejen's paper. It can strike the animal directly or it can hit as a "side flash," arcing into the animal's body after striking a nearby object. It can also be lethal through "touch potential," when the electrical current jolts through an animal that is in direct contact with a lightning-struck object. Finally, lightning can also deliver a deadly current through "step potential," which electrifies the animal through the ground.

"Both giraffes had a very strong ammonia-like smell," Scheijen added. Researchers had previously mentioned a similar odor surrounding a lightning-struck giraffe, in a study published in 2014 in the journal Vulture News.
 
In October 1998 two African soccer teams were struck by lightning on the same day.
FOOTBALL LIGHTNING MASSACRE

ALL ELEVEN MEMBERS OF A SOCCER TEAM were killed by lightning during a match in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 25 October, while the other team remained untouched, prompting suspicions of witchcraft. All the dead, from the home team of Bena Tshadi village in the province of Eastern Kasai, were aged between 20 and 35, and 30 other people received burns, but none of the latter injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

The opposing players from nearby Basangana village were said to have escaped injury. The score was 1-1 when the lightning struck. According to the uncorroborated report in the Kinshasa daily, L'Avenir, "the exact nature of the lightning has divided the population in this region, known for its use of fetishes in football." This is the Associated Press version (29 Oct 1998); according to Reuters on the same day, it was the visiting team that were struck and the home team who were unscathed.

ON THE SAME DAY, viewers watching the last 12 minutes of a televised Castle Premiership football match between the Moroka Swallows and Jomo Cosmos in the George Gogh Stadium, Johannesburg, saw a group of players collapse suddenly after being struck by lightning. It was the first time in the history of South African soccer that a game was cancelled because of lightning. Jomo Cosmos were leading 2-0. Three Swallows players – Jaconia Cibi, Peter Matitse and Benjamin Njemo – were knocked unconscious; lesser injuries were sustained by Joseph Rapelego, Phumlani Dindi, Martial Chimbousou and Andrew Rabutla.

Some of the latter were Cosmos players and one was the referee, which seemed to rule out witchcraft in this case. There were no fatalities, although Cibi was in a critical condition for a while. He was grateful to "God and my ancestors for saving my life... I do not even want to entertain the idea that it could have been a muti-related act." Johannesburg Star, 26+27 Oct 1998.

Fortean Times #118, January 1999

SALVAGED FROM THE WAYBACK MACHINE:
https://web.archive.org/web/20041231211254/http://www.forteantimes.com/articles/118_sdays.shtml
 
Interesting.. When I was about 20 and on an Outward Bound course in The Rockies in the North San Juans a group of us got stuck on a mountain top while we were trying to kill grouse (we were starving), and a huge storm came up. We could see it coming and actually could see lightning in the valleys below --from above! Pretty amazing. The storm came up to the mountain like a big noose and we put all metal in a big pile away from us (don't know if that really helped) and hunkered down under tarps. The storm came right over the top if us and it was pretty terrifying. The flashes were so bright and each time there was a sound like a grenade going off next to you. People were praying. I don't remember falling asleep, but when we woke up there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground. Fun. That was the same trip I think I experienced a "Sky quake" on. We were rock climbing at the time. It was like an invisible explosion in the air, and scare the hell out of us; we were scanning around for a cloud from an explosion somewhere.
 
An old episode of Unsolved Mysteries repeated recently on tv mentioned a motorcyclist struck by lightning which seems to have a paranormal aspect. I can't find much about it and can't decide whether it's an urban legend or really happened. The few mentions on the internet seem to draw on each other with more or fewer details included - maybe an UL in the making!
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Acton_Campground
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/08/a-miraculous-ghostly-visitor-at-acton-campground/
 
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Surfer, 22, hoping to compete in Olympics killed by lightning while training

A professional surfer in training for the next Olympics has died after being struck by lightning.

Katherine Diaz was entering the water when she was struck during a training session at El Tunco Beach, in El Salvador.

The 22-year-old was hoping to take part in a forthcoming qualifier event for the Tokyo Olympic games.

She was entering the water at the surfing hotspot on the Pacific coast, at around 5pm, when she was struck down.

Friends and members of the public rushed to her aid and called an ambulance that raced her to hospital.

Sadly, NEWS AU reported the surfing beauty couldn’t be revived and she died in a medical facility after being attended to by doctors.

The International Surfing Association, the sport's governing body, sent its "heartfelt condolences" and tweeted: "Katherine embodied the joy and energy that make surfing so special and dear to us all, as a global ambassador of the sport.

"She excelled at the int'l competition level, representing her country with pride at both the World Surfing Games and ISA World Jr Surfing Championship."

Diaz's funeral was held on Sunday with local media tweeting pictures of her surfboard next to her coffin, along with flowers and photos.

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Browsing the forum today, for the first time in a couple of days, I saw this thread had recently been added to and also that I'd contributed to it at some point in the past. 'What could I possibly have said about lightning?' I said to one of the voices in my head. 'Could it have been something about the old belief that being struck by lightning could create a photo of one's surroundings on one's skin?' So I looked back and my memory was jolted by this mention of my nan, then ninety-four:

This was a particularly satisfying memory to stumble upon. My nan passed this morning at ninety-eight.
I remember when I was a child that my extended family and the neighbors all covered mirrors in a storm to prevent lightning from doing more damage to the house inside. I was warned to not stand by the window as it increased my changes of getting struck. It is so comforting to believe that taking some kind of action will benefit you.
 
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