Crazy Storm Weather and Lightning - Global

[casper]

More than 60 people have been killed by lightning during powerful storms that struck Bangladesh last week.
http://www.itv.com/news/2016-05-16/more-than-60-struck-dead-by-lightning-in-bangladesh/

Hi Casper,

This dates from last month and was covered by Sott -

https://www.sott.net/article/318440-Shocking-update-Lightning-strikes-kill-81-people-in-just-two-days-in-Bangladesh

I'm sorry, I did not see it

 

[Ca.]

Lightning Strength and Frequency Increasing Globally Explained, Please be Careful While Outdoors
Published on Jun 16, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKnWeYM6MTw
Strange electrical phenomenon across the globe over the last month can be attributed to decreased solar winds that are now allowing the magnetosphere to expand along with Earth atmosphere. The wider gap is allowing more plasma arching and cosmic rays in, which also increases low cloud formation. A new feedback loop has begun. [/quote]

Edit: Most all the information found on the current edition Sott https://www.sott.net/

But a good reminder of taking cover during Electrical Storms.

 

[Ca.]

Jellyfish Sprite over Oklahoma Panhandle June 14 2016 0514:04 UT with VLF Radio Emissions

[embed]
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/170664389?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640" height="427" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/170664389">Jellyfish Sprite over Oklahoma Panhandle June 14 2016 0514:04 UT with VLF Radio Emissions</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user11108390">Thomas Ashcraft</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>[/embed]

VLF-ELF Radio emissions (and also 2.5 MHz WWV time signals)
Thomas Ashcraft-Heliotown- New Mexico More various observations at heliotown.com

ELVE June 13 2016 0510:20 UTC Southeast Colorado

[embed]<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/170500250?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640" height="469" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/170500250">ELVE June 13 2016 0510:20 UTC Southeast Colorado and Radio Emissions</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user11108390">Thomas Ashcraft</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> :([/embed]

ELVE radio pulse captured at 5 MHz on WWV time station. (Voice is WWV data broadcaster)
Thomas Ashcraft - New Mexico More various observations at heliotown.com

POLAR STRATOSPHERIC CLOUDS: Bright colors have appeared in the skies over Antarctica--but it's not the aurora australis.

Instead, pastel stratospheric clouds are floating over the frozen continent. B. Sudarsan Patro photographed the apparition on June 17th from the Bharati Indian Base Station:
http://spaceweather.com/
"

The clouds were absolutely stunning," says Patro. "It was really surprising and a new experience for all of us."

Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley says "Bharati Station at 70 degrees south is just the place to get these wonderful filmy Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs). Floating 9 to 16 miles high, they need stunningly-cold temperatures below -85 Celsius to form."

Sunlight shining through tiny ice particles ~10µm across produce the characteristic bright iridescent colors of PSCs by diffraction and interference. "More familiar tropospheric clouds can also shine with iridescent colours," says Cowley, "but never as vividly or memorably as PSCs. This page helps distinguish the two."

Electric Heat

Oklahoma City news:
Published on Jun 17, 2016

http://<iframe width="560" height="...vU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Chad]

Interesting post c.a!

Another lightning strike that killed a herd: 120 sheep on June 16th in Kyrgyzstan. There are more pictures on the page but i chose the least graphic.

120 sheep killed by lightning all at once in Kyrgyzstan
By Strange Sounds -
Jun 20, 2016

120 sheep have been killed by a sudden lightning strike on June 16, 2016.

The animals were killed at once, while the shepherd and his helpers managed to survive.

The terrifying event occurred between 9 and 10 pm on a pasture in the village of Suuk Tobo in the Aksy district, Kyrgyzstan.

The shepherd named Umar with two helpers were taking care of a herd of about 600 sheep and goats.

As the pasture in Suuk Tobo is difficult to reach at night and under rain, the shepherds decided to wait the morning to reach it.

While the shepherd herded the animals, the camp and tents were set up by the helpers.

It is when the men went into their tents to change their wet clothes, that the lightning struck and killed the 120 sheep at once!

Insane!

 

[Chad]

Lightning strikes a house (actually quite a few) in UK and apparently a man was also struck - the second article. Another article says a roof was also set on fire in the same area the week before during a storm http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2016-06-08/your-pictures-last-nights-flash-floods/ . The UK had some quite hot weather followed by storms and flooding similar to those occurring across Europe. I'd just say that living in the UK for much of my life i never thought of it as a particularly lightning prone place, sometimes sure but this does seem to be on the increase.

I read the other day that this June in UK was set to be the wettest on record but figured i'd wait to see the results, and apparently it's already had the most thunderstorms than it has in a whole year, and the season apparently begins in June, though i would have expected August to be the busiest month.

One damn storm after another

The UK has already had more thunderstorms this year than its average for a whole year

Lightning strikes a plane coming into land at Heathrow Airport on 27 April 2016. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Paul Brown

Sunday 19 June 2016 21.30 BST
Last modified on Sunday 19 June 2016 22.00 BST

A rumble of thunder is always a cue to unplug computers in our district. Everyone remembers when the local power lines got struck by lightning a decade ago and wiped out the innards of most computers, even some that were switched off but still plugged into the mains. New computers are supposed to be fitted with anti-surge devices but anyone ever seriously inconvenienced by a lightning strike is unlikely to take the risk again.

Last week’s daily thundery showers meant being unplugged a great deal of the time, which is not a problem with modern computer batteries, but which led to discussions about how often the UK gets this number of thunderstorms. It turns out that by the weekend most of the country had already exceeded the average for a whole year.

According to the Tornado and Storm Research Association the south and east of England get more thunder than the north and west. London is in the 15-to-19-days-a-year belt, while Cornwall, Wales and Scotland have five to nine days a year when thunder is heard. Most of these storm days occur in summer – June, July and August.

The worst year on record for storms was 2006, when our local computers were wiped out, and nearly 400 lightning strikes were reported nationally that damaged people, animals and property, or blacked out electricity supplies. In 2010 there were less than 50 such strikes, so annual variations are enormous.

Scientists say that as the climate heats up there is more water and energy in the atmosphere, but so far there is no discernible trend in thunderstorm numbers over the last 25 years.

 

[Gary]

An interesting video by Adapt 2030 on increased lightning strength and frequency.

Strange electrical phenomena across the globe over the last month can be attributed to decreased solar winds that are now allowing the magnetosphere to expand along with Earth's atmosphere. The wider gap is allowing more plasma arching and cosmic rays in, which also increases low cloud formation. A new feedback loop has begun.

https://www.sott.net/article/320617-Electric-universe-Lightning-strength-and-frequency-increasing

http://<iframe width="560" height="...Tw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[angelburst29]

At least 67 people have lost their lives in India due to lightning strikes as the annual monsoon rains drench the country, officials say.

Lightning strikes kill at least 67 people in monsoon-hit India
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/22/471591/India-monsoon-Lightning-strikes-Bihar

Wed Jun 22, 2016 - According to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), lightning strikes killed at least 47 people, including women and children, during an overnight storm in different parts of the eastern Bihar state in East India and wounded 22 others, mostly in rural areas.

“We have confirmation of 47 deaths and fear the toll may go up as reports are pouring in from other districts,” said Anirudh Kumar, a senior official at Bihar's disaster management agency, on Wednesday.

Lightning strikes are fairly frequent in Bihar during the monsoon season which commenced from the second week of June to October. The downpours that started earlier this week were the first of this monsoon season.

Authorities in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, located in northern parts of India, also reported that 20 more people lost their lives due to lightning strikes over the past two days.

According to the country’s National Crime Records Bureau, back in 2014, over 2,500 Indians were hit by lightning and died.

Every year, lightning claims the lives of thousands of Indian people, most of whom are farmers working in the fields.

 

[griffin]

I'd just like to add a bit of personal testimony about the increasing strength of lightning occurring lately.

A couple of weeks ago we had a single lightning strike here that was exceptionally strong and powerful.

There wasn't a thunderstorm as such, but it was a partly cloudy day and a little windy at times. A large thunderhead might have developed overhead, but I wasn't watching the sky so I can't say that one did.

Suddenly, a very loud explosion hit the city, seemingly very close to my house in the eastern suburbs. The explosion was very sharp and loud. It didn't crack like lightning usually sounds when it's close, or rumble like it does when it's off in the distance. It didn't sound 'soft', like a natural gas explosion does. Instead, it was sharp, strong and loud. It made me jump involuntarily in my chair, as I was sitting down.

Normally lightning and thunder doesn't make me jump. In fact, I rather enjoy a decent lightning storm.

At first I thought that might have been dynamite or a chemical explosion in the industrial area miles away, but it sounded too close for that. Then I heard the reverberations off hills over the next 5-10 seconds, and I tentatively decided it must have been lightning, as I also mentally hedged, half-expecting sirens.

My wife was at work about 1-1/2 miles away, so when she got home I asked her if she had heard the lightning that afternoon. She said hell yes, and mentioned that it scared everyone where she works.

So maybe this was a "positive giant" lightning strike, or perhaps it was an ordinary one, but massive.

I realize that's a subjective account, but there it is.

 

[Gary]

I'd just like to add a bit of personal testimony about the increasing strength of lightning occurring lately.
........
I realize that's a subjective account, but there it is.

Thanks for sharing. Fwiw eyewitness accounts can be a valuable source of information. Yes, it is a phenomena that looks to be increasing - quite significantly too.

 

[Ca.]

Possibly incoming Sat. 6-24-16......................... Damn Lookalike a war zone.

"War in the heavens disguised as weather"

Session 30 July 1994

A: It has already started. Will intensify steadily.
Q: (L) Why are we not aware that it has already started?
A: Disguised at this point as weather. Fighting part still in other dimension. Will go to this one within 18 years. Anytime within this period. Not determinable exactly when. Could be tomorrow or 18 years.
Q: (L) 18 years from now is 2012. Is there some special significance to that time?
A: By then

.

Pink lightning (storm)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_lightning_(storm)
Number of deaths

The number of deaths in the United States vary by year, but averages around 156. It's a little high compared to other deaths, but is still against the odds of happening. The deaths occur a lot in Florida, and New Mexico. Those two states are considered the most high ranked death lightning states in the United States Because the lightning is "positive" rather than "negative", these bolts tend to strike down from the cloud to the ground. Because positive is attracted to negative is why this occurs. The ground is usually negative in these type of storms. Blue or white lightning can stroke from the ground up to the cloud. However since this occurs so fast, the eye cannot see this. So motion photography is needed. In these storms the ground becomes positive, hence the lightning striking up to the negative base of the storm. What determines the color and especially the amount of lightning discharges is the amount of ice in the mid to upper levels of the storm. Ice is what generates the charges within the storm.

Utube

http://<iframe width="560" height="...-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Eol]

An interesting video by Adapt 2030 on increased lightning strength and frequency.

Strange electrical phenomena across the globe over the last month can be attributed to decreased solar winds that are now allowing the magnetosphere to expand along with Earth's atmosphere. The wider gap is allowing more plasma arching and cosmic rays in, which also increases low cloud formation. A new feedback loop has begun.

https://www.sott.net/article/320617-Electric-universe-Lightning-strength-and-frequency-increasing

http://<iframe width="560" height="...Tw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

His work for gathering informations is always welcome and interresting but i notice that the explanations he provides are often suspicious and whitout basis.

Strange electrical phenomena across the globe over the last month can be attributed to decreased solar winds that are now allowing the magnetosphere to expand along with Earth's atmosphere.

I don't know about the magnetosphere but a decrease in solar activity does the exact contrary to what he claims about the thermosphere :

A Puzzling Collapse of Earth's Upper Atmosphere


NASA-funded researchers are monitoring a big event in our planet's atmosphere. High above Earth's surface where the atmosphere meets space, a rarefied layer of gas called "the thermosphere" recently collapsed and now is rebounding again.

"This is the biggest contraction of the thermosphere in at least 43 years," says John Emmert of the Naval Research Lab, lead author of a paper announcing the finding in the June 19th issue of the Geophysical Research Letters (GRL). "It's a Space Age record."
The collapse happened during the deep solar minimum of 2008-2009—a fact which comes as little surprise to researchers. The thermosphere always cools and contracts when solar activity is low. In this case, however, the magnitude of the collapse was two to three times greater than low solar activity could explain.

"Something is going on that we do not understand," says Emmert.

[...] How do you know what's happening all the way up in the thermosphere?

Emmert uses a clever technique: Because satellites feel aerodynamic drag when they move through the thermosphere, it is possible to monitor conditions there by watching satellites decay. He analyzed the decay rates of more than 5000 satellites ranging in altitude between 200 and 600 km and ranging in time between 1967 and 2010. This provided a unique space-time sampling of thermospheric density, temperature, and pressure covering almost the entire Space Age. In this way he discovered that the thermospheric collapse of 2008-2009 was not only bigger than any previous collapse, but also bigger than the sun alone could explain.

_http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/15jul_thermosphere/
_http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/07/16/nasa.upper.atmosphere.shrinking/

You can read the multiple studies of J. T. Emmert about thermospheric density to see that the thermosphere is shrinking and cooling since at least the 70'.

A more appropriate explanation would be :

A widely-held misconception is that space weather stalls and becomes uninteresting during periods of low sunspot number. In fact, by turning the solar cycle sideways, we see that Solar Minimum brings many interesting changes. For instance, the upper atmosphere of Earth collapses, allowing space junk to accumulate around our planet. The heliosphere shrinks, bringing interstellar space closer to Earth. And galactic cosmic rays penetrate the inner solar system with relative ease.

_http://news.spaceweather.com/the-solar-cycle-is-crashing/


Here is an overall view of the different trend in the atmosphere :

_Laštoviška et al. Response of the mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system to global change - CAWSES-II contribution. Progress in Earth and Planetary Science 2014, 1:21


Regarding lightning, I don't know if it worth noting but the magnetic field has changed faster around Asia since 2014/2015 :

_http://www.esa.int/spaceinvideos/content/view/embedjw/470124
_http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Swarm/Earth_s_magnetic_heartbeat

 

[Chad]

In light of previous articles regarding lightning strikes and house fires, and Lightning bolt strikes moving vehicle on U.S. 277 near Wichita Falls, Texas, i figure to log this here:

Officials: Lightning Sparks House Fire In Edmond
Posted: Jul 08, 2016 2:41 PM CEST Updated: Jul 08, 2016 3:41 PM CEST
By News9.com
Email

EDMOND, Oklahoma -

An Edmond home caught fire Friday morning after authorities said it was struck by lightning.

According to the fire department, crews responded to the fire at a home in the 21000 block Water Oak Circle, which is near Coffee Creek Road and N. May.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire. However, the home was destroyed.

No one was injured.

Firefighters from Deer Creek, Edmond, and Oakcliff fire departments responded to the fire.

 

[Ca.]

CLOSE LIGHTNING STRIKES in Slow Motion & Anvil Crawler Lightning 2000 fps
Published on Jul 7, 2016

http://<iframe width="560" height="...6g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

All new epic close lightning strikes in slow motion high definition up to 2000 fps / 64x's slower with anvil crawler lightning and the birth of several bolts as step leaders slowly march toward the ground. For licensing contact -hank

This best of lightning video compilation was all shot in the Spring storm season of 2016. Several slow motion frame rates were used from 250-500 frames per second (fps) in full HD to 2000 fps. In order to increase chances of catching close lightning strikes on camera a wide angle lens (18mm) was used. The closest strikes are inside 100 feet however the wide angle lens makes them appear slightly farther away.

The slow motion video really capture the chaotic nature of lightning. The flickering branches and step leaders occur in milliseconds but when slowed down to 2000 fps their secrets are revealed. My favorite and closest lightning strike occurs toward the right side of the frame. An extremely close lightning bolt crashed into the ground spewing fire and as the lightning channel begins to cool it breaks up into glowing balls of fire. This is the rarest and best example of bead lightning or chain lightning I've ever seen!

When the charge difference between the thunderstorm and the ground are strong enough, a step leader begins to blindly branch toward the ground or in some cases seen here curve back up into the storm. This is the insulating capacity of the air breaking down as the negative charge starts moving downward. The instant this dim branching step leader makes contact with the ground (or upward streamer), a massive electrostatic discharge we know as lightning occurs. Watch the 2000 fps section of this video and you can see this millisecond phenomenon happening.

The step leader has paved the way for successive return strokes to occur and several other discharges can occur through the channel. We see this as a flickering channel. In all the negative lightning observed in this video, there were on average 4-5 strokes, however strikes had up to 20 strokes evident in the isolated thunderstorm in this video in the blue sky.

 

[Ca.]

Impressive lightning over Calar Alto Observatory (http://www.caha.es/)
Published on Jul 7, 2016

http://<iframe width="420" height="...7E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Impressive lightning over Calar Alto Observatory recorded on 7 July 2016.

Calar Alto Observatory
http://www.caha.es/
Location-Almería, Spain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Almer%C3%ADa
Coordinates-37°13′25″N 2°32′46″W

 

[Ca.]

South China Morning Post
10,000 flashes of lightning: Hong Kong marvels at the might of an epic summer storm Videos and Pic's
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1987927/10000-flashes-lightning-hong-kong-marvels-might-epic-summer-storm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 12 July, 2016, 1:16am

Twelve hours of thunder, lightning and rain has the city talking about a night to remember

The city was hit by a whopping 10,000 bolts of lightning during an epic 12-hour overnight thunderstorm, with even meteorologists taken aback by the intensity.

Hong Kong residents were barely starting to cool down from the hottest July day in half a century when the Observatory issued a thunderstorm warning at 6.45pm on Saturday, alerting the public to seek shelter and get off high ground.

In more than five hours up to 12am, the Observatory recorded 5,905 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, most of them hitting Lantau Island and the New Territories. An amber rainstorm warning was issued on top of that at 9.55am, as downpours lashed parts of Hong Kong with more than 30 millimetres of rain.

The rolling thunder and intense flashes continued into Sunday morning, which saw another 4,095 bolts of lightning strike from cloud to ground.

Observatory scientific officer Tam Yee-ting said such a measurement was “very high” even for a summer storm and the figure had surpassed the record-high 24-hour total of 9,966 cloud-to-ground strikes in July 2005.

But because the storm spilled across two days, the measurements taken over the 12-hour period are unlikely to make it into the record books for most lightning strikes in a day. About 3,122 cloud-to-cloud bolts of lightning were also counted in the two days.

“Saturday’s high temperatures facilitated convection, which is the rising of warm air from the ground and this creates unstable air [in the upper atmosphere]. This provides the mechanisms for rain and thunder,”

Tam said.

Weather photographers, professional and amateur, had a field day snapping pictures of forks of lightning piercing across deep purple skies, much of their work plastered on social media overnight.

On Sunday, the Observatory said the cloud bands covering the coast of Guangdong were thinning out gradually.

The outlook for Sunday and the early parts of the week ahead is mainly cloudy with showers.

http://<iframe width="560" height="...Ns" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Severe lightning storm over Burleson, TX July 5th.

http://<iframe width="560" height="...H8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>