Slow, methodical lightening strikes.

[paulca]

Years ago I witnessed something that changed how I think about lightening forever.  Not sure what brought it to me tonight, but, I thought I'd share as I find it fascinating.

I was enjoying the rare occurrence of thunder and lightening here.  The window wide open watching, listening, counting to work out the distance to the strike, etc.

I was rewarded by a very close strike of the church at the end of the street, less than 80 yards away.  A single finger of lightening appeared, instantly, as they do, but it was hitting the middle of the tower, the ring of pillars and ornaments before the main spire on top.  It didn't hit the top.  The sounds was a harsh crackle.  Which also made me aware I was watching the bolt and it was still there and I could hear it.  Then another bolt appeared hitting the top of the tower and immediately a fan of fingers randomly probed around the whole spire before... finally happy with what it found BANG! A huge solid bolt of lightening lit up and it was all gone.  That bolt appeared to me to go from the sky to the ground, through the tower.  I left a burn on my retina which included where the tower was.   The sounds was crack, crackle, crack, crackle, BANG!

I mean it was probably only half a second, maybe a second.  But the first bolt not hitting the top of the tower completely voids that theory.  The bolt not discharging instantly, but continuing to pulse on the same spot busts that other theory and the way it was joined by another, then the whole spire probed before finally the discharge too the bait ... reminds me much more of watching people making "arc art" and Electroboom playing with arc progression.

Electrically I "imagine" with 1"x0.5" lightening conductors running down all 4 sides of the tower the potential and impedance of all of those points is pretty much 0 so any point on them will do.  The fingers spanning around the spire where the potential/charge along all those copper lightening conductors charging up which somehow created enough ionisation in the air around the spire to allow the full discharge current to jump?  I'm way out of my depth though.

It's one of those things you wished you got on video.  There "are" some nice videos of similar "probing, walking, sensing almost" lightening strikes that take seconds. 

[coppercone2]

I think we don't know that much about high voltages but it would help if you drew it or something its hard to imagine

you mean that you saw some kind of oscillator? I believe it

Maybe there was a bunch of little charged clouds crashing into a bigger cloud that was discharging it

[jpanhalt]

There is another meaning to "lightening".*  That's why I opened this thread.

However, since it appears to be about lightning, let me add that it does strange things things.  It can kill you or just singe your clothes a little.  Last Spring, I had a lightning strike very close to my home.  The noise was loud and instant. I looked around the next day and saw no damage.  A week or so later while mowing, I came across long strips of bark and wood on the ground.  Looking up, it appears the strike was to a tree about 80 feet tall and had caused a spiral stripping of the bark and cambium layer.  Glad it wasn't my home, but I had to fell the tree as it was quite close to the house.




*https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lightening

[mawyatt]

We live in the Tampa Bay area which might be considered one of the Lightning Capitols of the World.

We lost our prior company HR director to lightning, two others were seriously injured while playing golf. Another instance a young lady that worked at the Golf/Tennis Club was struck outside her home and suffered serious injuries.

Many trees get "hit" every year here and you usually can tell by the 100~200mm strips from tree top to ground of bark that had been blown off due to rapid vaporization of water and tree sap. Almost always these trees die.

During portions of the year we witness "Lightning Storms" which are counted in multiple strikes per minute, these "Storms" usually precede a major storm front moving in from the East from across Tampa Bay towards the Gulf of Mexico, and spectacular to watch from a distance.

Never witnessed anything like the OP mentioned, although have been very close to "strikes", sometimes multiple in quick succession, but usually too startled to take note, and after calming down trying to find a local restroom to change ones underwear 

Long ago were involved with utility direct power-line equipment that had to survive direct strikes, there were specs & test procedures and such to verify and "pass". Recall we needed multiple levels of protection from cascaded gas discharge tubes, to multiple levels of MOVs and then multiple levels of Transorbs. Ironically, very similar to the EMP from a Nuclear Detonation pulse survivability requirements.

Best,

[Bud]

I was rewarded by a very close strike of the church 

Given the target, I wonder who was the guy pushing the button on the other end of the strike 

[mac.6]

Storm are sometimes amazing, look at this one I shoot from my home, it was very distant (over 100km) and above the sea, it looks almost speedup



What you have may see is an upward lighting strike that followed a downward one. It's impossible by eye to determine which one you see:

https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/what-upward-lightning

[jmelson]

My experience with close lightning strikes is that they sound like somebody shutting a car door, but then you hear the echoes of the strike and they are way louder.  So, if you are real close to the end point, all the acousitc output goes sideways from the bolt, and you don't really hear it.  If it does hit a tree that explodes, then that makes a big noise.
Jon

[Kasper]

I once saw lightning strike the haul rope of the ski hill chairlift I was sitting on.  It hit right infront of us and a small spark came down and flicked my knee.  Felt like a normal static shock.  2nd loudest thing I have heard. 2nd only to being in bad car accident.

Seemed slow to me but exciting things often seem slow.  Might just be that your mind sped up.  I filmed myself snowboarding about 80km/h.  Playing it back at normal speed, it felt sped up.   Watching it in slow motion reminded me of what it felt like in the moment. 

[Black Phoenix]

This may interest people around here, regarding this subject - https://youtu.be/JXhif3E3l2s