tucsoncoyote
06-23-2007, 07:35 AM
Related Link(s): http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/147572.html
Well I've decided to post this up as this happened as the "proverbial" freak happenstance. After all the state of Florida is notorious as being one of the most 'lightning prone' areas of the United States. It's also one of the most 'death prone' by victims of lightning strikes. In fact last year out of the 47 people that were killed in the United States, 5 of them were from Florida.
But this bolt that killed a 44 year old landscaper under a completely cloudless sky is what meteorologists call "Dry Lightning"
Dry Lightning can actually occur when a bolt from a thunderstorm escapes the cloud and travels sometimes for up to 10-20 miles on end, and then impact the ground with violent force. After all People have died from these proverbial "Bolts from the blue".
In this case, the storm that formed this bolt was several miles away just north of Coral Gables Florida, and in fact These kinds of bolts are in fact more deadly then your typical lightning bolt. How so? Well most bolts the strike from the bottom of the thunderstorm are in fact negatively charged, and are seeking a positive ground target.
But a bolt from the blue is a bolt that leaves the cloud higher up and carries in fact a positive charge.. (and it still seeks a target, producing a hotter, brighter, more powerful bolt carrying a number of times more energy then one of it's cloud-ground based cousins.
Sadly this poor fellow, didn't know what hit him. In fact according to the homeowner who was inside the house when this fellow got struck, his wife described the following thing:
''My wife said the sky was blue, but the lightning bolt was the most horrible sound she had heard in her life,'' said Clemente Vazquez-Bello, owner of the home where the victim and two workers had come to do landscaping.
Of course a lot of folks tempt fate a lot of times when it comes to thunderstorms. Rather then going indoors and playing it safe, some golfers get killed every year as they wear metal spiked shoes, and carry around metal based golf clubs.
But this fellow wasn't a golf, he was rather a landscaper, and maybe at best he might have been carrying a shovel or even a hoe or rake, and yet this freak of nature still killed him..
It's not uncommon for thunderstorms in Florida either, Tampa Bay Florida is in fact 'Lightning Capital of the United states (east of the Mississippi and over all, with 91 days out of the year where there is a thunderstorm going on).
By Comparison, Tucson, Arizona, is interestingly enough the Lightning captial of the West, and suffers through more lightning than most the other western U.S. cities, having 61 days of thunderstorms (usually during the summer monsoon season.)
But believe me Lightning can kill, and this is really an unfortunate event. Sadly this person will be added to this year's list of fataliies due to lightning, a list that usually averages 66 deaths per year.
So in closing, If you live anywhere in the Untied States, and you think you're safe? Think again, because "Bolts from the blue" do happen. They usually can kill, and if you even see a thunderstorm off in the distance, remember this. Even 'a bolt from the blue' can kill you. Nuff said.
:coyote:
Well I've decided to post this up as this happened as the "proverbial" freak happenstance. After all the state of Florida is notorious as being one of the most 'lightning prone' areas of the United States. It's also one of the most 'death prone' by victims of lightning strikes. In fact last year out of the 47 people that were killed in the United States, 5 of them were from Florida.
But this bolt that killed a 44 year old landscaper under a completely cloudless sky is what meteorologists call "Dry Lightning"
Dry Lightning can actually occur when a bolt from a thunderstorm escapes the cloud and travels sometimes for up to 10-20 miles on end, and then impact the ground with violent force. After all People have died from these proverbial "Bolts from the blue".
In this case, the storm that formed this bolt was several miles away just north of Coral Gables Florida, and in fact These kinds of bolts are in fact more deadly then your typical lightning bolt. How so? Well most bolts the strike from the bottom of the thunderstorm are in fact negatively charged, and are seeking a positive ground target.
But a bolt from the blue is a bolt that leaves the cloud higher up and carries in fact a positive charge.. (and it still seeks a target, producing a hotter, brighter, more powerful bolt carrying a number of times more energy then one of it's cloud-ground based cousins.
Sadly this poor fellow, didn't know what hit him. In fact according to the homeowner who was inside the house when this fellow got struck, his wife described the following thing:
''My wife said the sky was blue, but the lightning bolt was the most horrible sound she had heard in her life,'' said Clemente Vazquez-Bello, owner of the home where the victim and two workers had come to do landscaping.
Of course a lot of folks tempt fate a lot of times when it comes to thunderstorms. Rather then going indoors and playing it safe, some golfers get killed every year as they wear metal spiked shoes, and carry around metal based golf clubs.
But this fellow wasn't a golf, he was rather a landscaper, and maybe at best he might have been carrying a shovel or even a hoe or rake, and yet this freak of nature still killed him..
It's not uncommon for thunderstorms in Florida either, Tampa Bay Florida is in fact 'Lightning Capital of the United states (east of the Mississippi and over all, with 91 days out of the year where there is a thunderstorm going on).
By Comparison, Tucson, Arizona, is interestingly enough the Lightning captial of the West, and suffers through more lightning than most the other western U.S. cities, having 61 days of thunderstorms (usually during the summer monsoon season.)
But believe me Lightning can kill, and this is really an unfortunate event. Sadly this person will be added to this year's list of fataliies due to lightning, a list that usually averages 66 deaths per year.
So in closing, If you live anywhere in the Untied States, and you think you're safe? Think again, because "Bolts from the blue" do happen. They usually can kill, and if you even see a thunderstorm off in the distance, remember this. Even 'a bolt from the blue' can kill you. Nuff said.
:coyote: