Heat Lightening

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

We've just been treated to a great light show. I guess it's common near the coasts, but it's fairly rare here in the cornfields, we call it heat lightening. The sky lights up like fireworks, but it is completely silent. The cloud cover and the lightening have to be just right. I tried to take a video, but it's too dark to see much. Mrs WD and I have been on the back porch in our rockers, sipping wine and watching the show. It's a beautiful sight. What a gift.

From Wikipedia:
"The actual phenomenon commonly called heat lightning is simply cloud-to-ground lightning that occurs very far away, with thunder that dissipates before it reaches the observer.[2] At night, it is possible to see the flashes of lightning from very far distances, up to 100 miles (160 kilometres), but the sound does not carry that far."

Gogar · 08-31-2018, 06:04 PM

Man I thought you were gonna tell us about some new racing lightening technique using heat.

wswartzwel · 08-31-2018, 06:08 PM

We get that fairly often here in Arkansas... Sitting there, enjoying it with your wife is truly a gift. I cherish those types of events My wife and I experience together as we age.

masraum · 08-31-2018, 07:11 PM

I think it's darn near a year round thing in Florida. We get it here in Houston a fair amount too.

Good stuff.

We've had a couple of rain storms here recently where there was 1 huge bolt of lightning that based on the time between the flash and the thunder must have been minimum 1/2 mile away and probably closer to 1 mile, but the thunder was so loud that the windows would rattle or I felt another one in the floor board of the boxster as I was sitting at a redlight in the sunshine. It was like the storm put all of it's energy into that one bolt.

look 171 · 08-31-2018, 08:41 PM

Is that what it was? We were in New Mexico this summer driving back through the middle of nowhere and saw this amazing light show but no sound. We have never seen anything like it as we don't travel that far in the flat lands. pretty cool actually

flatbutt · 09-01-2018, 06:26 AM

We get heat lightning here in jersey too. But only once in my life have I seen cloud to cloud lightning (at least I think that's what it was). That was a memorable sight.

Hawkeye's-911T · Hawkeye's-911T's Garage

We used to call something similar to what has been described here as 'sheet lightening' when I was a kid in Calgary.
I've never seen it since being out on the west coast however.

Cheers
JB

ckcarr · ckcarr's Garage

Reminds me of this song for some reason...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afV2s_3Pq60

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Funny to me that you think it isnt that common. We see it somewhat often in NW OH

Tervuren · Tervuren's Garage

For me, it is sometimes difficult to enjoy because I know where it is coming from is getting hammered.

Depends on just how much of a "light show" it is and the hail potential.

wswartzwel · 09-01-2018, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckcarr

Reminds me of this song for some reason...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afV2s_3Pq60

or this one.

https://youtu.be/MjKft91jZ38

masraum · 09-01-2018, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

We get heat lightning here in jersey too. But only once in my life have I seen cloud to cloud lightning (at least I think that's what it was). That was a memorable sight.

cloud to cloud is a frequent event in the summer along the gulf coast