Lightning capital

[janswizard]

I've often heard said that Central Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Unfortunately, there doesn't have to be a "storm" in the area for this powerful phenomenen to take place

http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/l ... 13422A.htm

[Lindaloo]

How horrible!! Prayers going out to her and her family.

[themusk]

Unfortunately, there doesn't have to be a "storm" in the area for this powerful phenomenen to take place

This is, unfortunately, absolutely true. Lightning can hit 10 miles or more away from its source, and many persons have been struck by lightning while standing in the sunlight of a mostly-clear sky.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/ltg/crh_boltblue.html

We humans tend to miscalculate danger, assigning "greater danger" to hazards that are rare, and "not so dangerous" to hazards that are common. Lightning is common, and so we don't think of it the way we think of hurricanes or tornados. But lightning is the second largest weather killer in the US, killing more people than hurricanes and tornados combined.

[Stormsfury]

Unfortunately, there doesn't have to be a "storm" in the area for this powerful phenomenen to take place

This is, unfortunately, absolutely true. Lightning can hit 10 miles or more away from its source, and many persons have been struck by lightning while standing in the sunlight of a mostly-clear sky.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/ltg/crh_boltblue.html

We humans tend to miscalculate danger, assigning "greater danger" to hazards that are rare, and "not so dangerous" to hazards that are common. Lightning is common, and so we don't think of it the way we think of hurricanes or tornados. But lightning is the second largest weather killer in the US, killing more people than hurricanes and tornados combined.

Good post, themusk.

Bolts from the Blue are MUCH more dangerous because of the energy needed to produce lightning to travel that kind of distance and usually through clear air. Typical cloud to ground (CG strikes) within the thunderstorms themselves, although quite strong, are much weaker because of shorter distances and in thunderstorm turbulence to produce the charge necessary with a relative amount of ease. Since air is a poor conductor of electricity, to get a bolt to travel that far through clear air should give one an idea of the necessary buildup that is required to do so. This is why people will notice even after a thunderstorm has passed with the backlash lightning that the thunder lasts so much longer and starts with a crackle and become a rolling and sometimes heavy rolling and booming thunder that sometimes feels like the ground is shaking.

[alicia-w]

There was another instance somewhere in Florida where a woman was struck by lightning and there wasnt a cloud in the sky. She lived. Maybe it's just a case of someone's number being up....

[wxman57]

There was another instance somewhere in Florida where a woman was struck by lightning and there wasnt a cloud in the sky. She lived. Maybe it's just a case of someone's number being up....

That would be impossible, as it would imply that the nearest thunderstorm was perhaps over 100-200 miles away (below the horizon). Odds are, they were just looking up and saw some blue sky, but there was a storm within 10 miles of her location.

[abajan]

Bolts from the Blue are MUCH more dangerous because of the energy needed to produce lightning to travel that kind of distance and usually through clear air. Typical cloud to ground (CG strikes) within the thunderstorms themselves, although quite strong, are much weaker because of shorter distances and in thunderstorm turbulence to produce the charge necessary with a relative amount of ease. Since air is a poor conductor of electricity, to get a bolt to travel that far through clear air should give one an idea of the necessary buildup that is required to do so.

That's very interesting.

I recall an incident, related on Discovery Channel, where a lady in a boat on a lake was struck by lightning from a cloud about ten miles away. The weather in her vacinity was perfectly clear, so she felt that she was in no danger whatsoever.

Luckily, she survived to relate the story.