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Thunder & Lightning
Thunder & Lightning
There are on average approximately 1,800 thunderstorms occurring at any one time around the world, with 100 lightning strikes per second. Get the low-down on Mother Nature's fireworks...
Most thunder and lightning (electrical storms) are formed when dense cold air overlies warm moist air. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge which usually occurs during a rain storm but also frequently during volcanic eruptions.
Worldwide there are around 16 million thunderstorms each year. They are most frequent in tropical rain forests where they can be almost daily occurrences. In the US, Florida has more than its fair share and the severe ones can produce tornados.
Here in the UK there is around a one in three million chance of being struck by lightning. Which are bigger odds than winning the Lottery!
There are several kinds of lightning of which the most common is in-cloud lightning (lightning within a cloud). The most dangerous, however, is cloud to ground lightning (when a bolt of lightning strikes the ground).
American Roy Sullivan holds the record for the person struck by lighting the most times. During his 35 year career as a park ranger he survived seven strikes and suffered various injuries, including losing his big-toenail.
Meteorologists now believe that all electrical storms have large ice particles present, even in the tropics. Hail is often a result of a thunderstorm - In Australia, hailstones larger than cricket balls have been reported. The largest measured hailstone fell in Nebraska in 2003; the diameter was seven inches and the circumference over 18 inches.
Thunderstorms have been known to shower fish and frogs. Small creatures can be sucked up within the strong updrafts of a thunderstorm and carried along for an hour or more before falling back to earth. In 1984 six-inch long fish fell on a London neighbourhood - some were still alive. Not quite raining cats and dogs though.
The irrational fear of thunder and lightning has various names: Astraphopia, Brontophobia and Keraunophobia to name a few.
Dogs can hear at much greater distances than their human owners so have an early audio warning of an approaching storm. This, combined with keen noses able to detect changes in air smell, can send pooches into a mad panic.
People with asthma are at greater risk of an attack during summer thunderstorms. Scientists have found that the hourly grass pollen counts recorded during a thunderstorm can be up to 12 times higher than usual.
A thunderclap occurs at the same time as a lightning flash but is usually only audible afterwards because light travels faster than sound. You can estimate how far away a bolt of lightning is by timing how many seconds later you hear the thunderclap. The lightning will be approximately one mile away for every five seconds. Thunder is rarely heard at distances of 15 miles or over.
The first documented link between volcanic eruptions and lightning was recorded by Pliny the Elder, a philosopher and naturalist writing in AD 79. He recognised that by ejecting gases and solid material high into the atmosphere, a thunderstorm would often follow an eruption.
The popular saying; Lightning never strikes twice in the same place is a myth. The Empire State Building is struck on average 100 times a year.
A lightning bolt travels at about 14,000 miles per hour and can heat the surrounding air to temperatures five times hotter than the sun. If lightning strikes a sandy beach, it can turn a small portion of the sand into icicle shaped pieces of glass called fulgurites.
Thunderclaps register at approximately 120 decibels. Three minutes of exposure can cause damage to the inner-ear resulting in permanent noise-induced hearing loss. In August 1771, a Scottish labourer who had been deaf for 20 years was said to be cured when he was struck by lightning. As Mark Twain once said: 'Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.'
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