This means, if there is a storm in one of those towns, folks in the other need to be aware lightning can strike in their area!
Yes, lightning can travel up to 20 miles
.
Can lightning strike you 50 miles away?
That lightning bolt can travel a great distance –
up to 25 miles
– from the storm cloud.
What happens when lightning strikes a power line?
When lightning strikes the ground wires or phase conductors,
the current splits in both directions and the lightning current meets the wire's and conductor's surge impedances, producing a voltage
. Both current and voltage flow as traveling waves along the wire.
How Far Can lightning travel horizontally?
Bolt from the blue: A positive lightning bolt which originates within the updraft of the storm, typically 2/3rds of the way up, travels horizontally for
many miles
, then strikes the ground.
Can lightning travel through the ground?
An indirect lightning strike can happen two different ways. The first way is through a ground current
. These occur when lightning strikes an object or the ground and the electricity travels through the ground until it encounters another object. The second way is through a side flash.
Can lightning travel sideways?
Perhaps the most dangerous lightning appears as “bolts from the blue” —
lightning that begins upward, but then moves sideways and then downward to hit the ground as much as three miles from a thunderstorm
. About 90 percent of lightning occurs inside clouds and is not visible to the casual observer.
Can lightning strike a car?
According to NBC 12,
a lightning bolt is so powerful that it could actually go through the tires and melt them
. In reality, it's the car's metal cage that protects the occupants, not the tires. Of course, that might not make sense at first, considering metal is a good conductor of electricity.
How close do you have to be to lightning to feel it?
Greg Schoor with the National Weather Service says in some instances lightning can strike even
60 miles
away from the storm, and if it hits just 100 feet away, you can still feel the effects from it.
What is the 30 30 rule for lightning?
Don't forget the 30-30 rule.
After you see lightning, start counting to 30
. If you hear thunder before you reach 30, go indoors. Suspend activities for at least 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder.
Can lightning cause a power surge?
Lightning Strike
Lightning damage usually results from a direct strike on power lines, which produces a large voltage.
When this happens, the electrical system accepts the overwhelmingly excessive current with no other option. This creates a tremendous spike in voltage, which in turn causes a significant power surge
.
Has anyone died from showering during thunderstorm?
If the lightning strikes a water pipe, the electricity can move along the pipes and cause electrocution. To date,
it's unknown if anyone has ever died by showering during a thunderstorm.
What does Ball Lightning look like?
Ball lightning, according to observers, manifests as
a bright hissing orb of lightning ranging from 1 to 100 centimeters in diameter
that appears during thunderstorms, often levitating above the ground and moving regardless of wind intensity or direction.
How can you tell if lightning is close?
If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5
, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close.
What comes first thunder or lightning?
If we are watching the sky,
we see the lightning before we hear the thunder
. That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. We can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile.
Why is there lightning but no thunder?
Thunder starts as a shockwave from the explosively expanding lightning channel when a large current causes rapid heating. However, it is possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder
because it was too far away
. Sometimes this is called “heat lightning” because it occurs most often in the summer.
What are the 3 types of lightning?
There are three common types of lightning:
cloud to ground, cloud to cloud and cloud to air
. Cloud to ground lightning is the most dangerous. The ground is mainly consisted of positively charged particles while the bottom of violent storm clouds have negative charged particles.
Does lightning travel up or down?
Negative CG lightning strikes can be identified by their distinctive
downward branching
. The less common CG flashes are initiated by a downward-moving, positively-charged stepped leader which is followed by an upward travelling return stroke that lowers the positive charge to earth.
What is the rarest type of lightning?
ball lightning, also called globe lightning, a rare aerial phenomenon in the form of a luminous sphere that is generally several centimetres in diameter. It usually occurs near the ground during thunderstorms, in close association with cloud-to-ground lightning.
What color lightning is the strongest?
White
: most powerful lightning color
White is the most dangerous color of lighting. It suggests both a low concentration of moisture and a high concentration of dust in air. We all are aware that being hit by lightning can have serious consequences.
Is Red lightning real?
Red lightning doesn't exist in the literal sense
, according to the National Weather Service. The closest known phenomena is something called a red sprite, which occurs high in the atmosphere “directly above an active thunderstorm,” NOAA says.
What is Spider lightning?
Spider lightning refers to
long, horizontally traveling flashes often seen on the underside of stratiform clouds
. Spider lightning is often linked to +CG flashes.
Can you have lightning without clouds?
Some types of lightning, including the most common types, never leave the clouds
but travel between differently charged areas within or between clouds. Other rare forms can be sparked by extreme forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and snowstorms.
What is blue lightning?
A “Bolt from the Blue” is
a cloud to ground lightning flash
which typically comes out of the back side of the thunderstorm cloud, travels a relatively large distance in clear air away from the storm cloud, and then angles down and strikes the ground.
Can cell phones attract lightning?
“Cell phones, small metal items, jewelry, etc.,
do not attract lightning
. Nothing attracts lightning. Lightning tends to strike taller objects,” said John Jensenius, a NOAA National Weather Service lightning expert. “People are struck because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Can lightning strike a phone?
Using a corded telephone during a thunderstorm is discouraged because the phone is physically connected by wires to the outside. A cellphone, however, has no such physical connection and
the electric current from a nearby lightning strike cannot reach it
. It is perfectly safe to use a cellphone during a thunderstorm.
Where is the safest place during a thunderstorm?
The safest location during a thunderstorm is
inside a large enclosed structure with plumbing and electrical wiring
. These include shopping centers, schools, office buildings, and private residences.
