Storms
S

Bizarro Earth

Polar lightning - not just an earthly phenomenon


Agence France-Presse
Wed, 10 Oct 2007 02:04 UTC
Images from a NASA probe have shown that lightning does occur at the poles on Jupiter, a phenomenon previously only seen on Earth, a study released Tuesday said.

Lightning strikes had previously been observed at lower latitudes and around the equator on the gas planet but the jagged bolts of electricity had never been observed at either of its two poles, puzzling astronomers.
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Cloud Lightning

'The Worst Thunderstorm in Memory' for West Virginia town

Karen Kiley
WBOY12
Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:37 UTC
The storm struck at about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday with intense 60-80 mile an hour winds, pouring rain and golf-ball-size hail. The storm only lasted 45 intense minutes, but early estimates suggest about a half million dollars in damage.

Robin Hobbs house was hit hard by the storm. It uprooted two trees in her backyard and ripped the power lines right out of her house.



©Danny Snyder / Times West Virginian
Strong thunderstorms packing hail and winds estimated at between 60-80 mph uprooted trees in a narrow swath of Marion County from Fairview to just north of Rivesville Wednesday night.


"It started as a normal thunderstorm, but then all of a sudden it hit all four sides of the house with hail and rain and lightning," she said.
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Question

Mysterious Lightning Strike Closes Virginia's Grand Caverns

Hannah Northey
DailyNewsRecord
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:19 UTC
Darkness continues to envelop Grand Caverns, America's oldest show cave, after a lightning strike damaged the attraction's electrical system earlier this month, officials there say.

Charmaine Detrow, an education coordinator at the Grottoes park, said caverns officials are still mystified as to how cables and a light box, which provide illumination for tours, were struck by lightning. She said the system is inside the cave with no exposure to the elements.

"There's no doubt in our minds it got hit," she said. "The plastic switches are melted onto the metal box."
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Cloud Lightning

Lightning storm wreaks havoc in Vancouver area


CBC News
Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:49 UTC
Heavy rains and lightning hit British Columbia's Lower Mainland Tuesday, leaving parts of Surrey under a foot of water and causing structural damage to a home in Coquitlam.

Traffic flows were disrupted by the storm, which also left 2,000 British Columbia Hydro & Power Authority customers without power for much of Tuesday. Power outages were reported in Burnaby, Delta, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.



©CBC
Heavy rain flooded parts of British Columbia's Lower Mainland on Tuesday.

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Question

Miami: Religious Book Seller Struck By Lightning Beneath Blue Sky


CBS4
Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:22 UTC
A man making a trip from Puerto Rico to South Florida to raise money for his religious education remains hospitalized Monday after he was struck down by a bolt of lightning which flew from clear blue sky on Sunday. He was selling religious materials when he was hit.

Hailu Kidane Marian was working with members of his religious group, selling religious materials door-to-door in a Northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood, when the bolt from the blue struck him down.
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Question

Miami: Lightning kills man beneath cloudless sky

Tere Figueras Negrete and Luisa Yanez
Miami Herald
Sat, 23 Jun 2007 05:53 UTC
With no rain or even clouds to warn him of the danger, death came literally out of the blue Thursday to a self-employed landscaper. The killer was a powerful bolt of lightning that cracked through perfectly clear skies.

David Canales, 41, of West Miami-Dade, was on the job at a Pinecrest home when the bolt hit. It first seared a tree, then traveled and struck Canales, standing nearby.

Experts said Canales was killed by a weather phenomenon fittingly called a ''bolt from the blue'' or ''dry lightning'' because it falls from clear, blue skies. He was pronounced dead at South Miami Hospital.
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Cloud Lightning

India: 40 Foot Crater 'Caused by Lightning': Locals Report Headaches and Nausea


Chennaionline
Sat, 26 May 2007 14:12 UTC
Smoke and flame are found emanating from a 40-feet long and two feet wide crater, caused by lightning which struck last afternoon at Talaikuda village on the outskirts of Udhagamandalam.

According to official sources, nearly 300 eucalyptus trees were burnt, following the lightning, which hit the area, and big crater was formed.

The smoke, which was found last evening, continued emanating heavily today and a flame was visible deep below eight feet, the sources said.
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Attention

Powerful monsoon storms knock out power in Yuma

Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
Sun, 02 Sep 2007 15:49 UTC
About 600 people remained without power Sunday morning following powerful monsoon thunderstorms that rolled through Yuma.



©The Republic
Lightning flashes above Maricopa, Ariz. Saturday night.

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Cloud Lightning

Floods cut off villages in Romania


AP
Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:11 UTC
Rain-swollen rivers overflowed Sunday in Romania, killing at least one man, cutting off around 2,000 people in several villages and forcing the evacuation of tourists.

A 15-year-old boy also died in the southern village of Visina after he was struck by lightning while grazing cattle in the village fields, local authorities were quoted by state news agency Rompres as saying.
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Cloud Lightning

Oklahoma: Storm blows in trouble for Chouteau

Sommer Woodward
Pryor Daily Times
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:23 UTC
Students at the Chouteau Elementary and Middle School were evacuated to buses Friday afternoon when a burning odor was discovered in a classroom during the thunderstorm.

Principal Steve Boone said he doesn't know for sure if lightning was the culprit, but he suspects lightning struck the building.

During the storm, Boone said despite a loud boom was heard over the normal thunder claps. Immediately following the boom, a burning plastic odor was smelled in a middle school classroom.
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