Electrifying Discoveries: Top 11 Fun Facts About Lightning You Never Knew!

1. Empire State's Electric Personality

It seems that the Empire State Building has a rather electric personality, constantly seeking attention from the high-energy heavens above: struck by lightning around 23 times a year, this skyscraper is a true "thunder-magnet" and a favored rendezvous point for nature's flashes of brilliance.
Source => cdc.gov

2. Zeus's Party at the Empire State

When Zeus throws a party, the Empire State Building brings its A-game: this iconic skyscraper gets struck by lightning approximately 25 times per year.
Source => noaa.gov

Did you know that you can easily measure the distance of a lightning strike by counting the seconds between its flash and the thunder boom? Discover this shockingly fun party trick and more!

=> Fun Facts about Thunderstorms

3. Skyward Lightning Defiance

Beware, skyward rebels: lightning can defect from its downward trajectory! In a thrilling act of electrical defiance, lightning sometimes travels upwards from tall structures like buildings or trees, creating a spectacle known as a "positive streamer," which can stretch skyward for meters upon meters and pack just as much punch as its conventional counterpart.
Source => weather.gov

4. Lightning's Beach Sculptures

When Mother Nature throws a "strike" at the beach, it's not just a game of pick-up sand bowling: Lightning can actually fuse damp sand grains together, creating delicate glassy tubes called fulgurites, named after the Latin word for lightning, 'fulgur'. These fascinating formations have been found worldwide from Germany to England, with even Charles Darwin taking note of their existence. The tubes can trace the path of the lightning bolt underground, measuring several meters in length.
Source => oumnh.ox.ac.uk

5. Earth's Gamma-ray Party Crashers

You might say that Earth is throwing a gamma-ray party during thunderstorms, and lightning is just crashing the scene: Believe it or not, Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) are bursts of gamma rays produced in our atmosphere during thunderstorms and lightning strikes, boasting energies up to 20 million electronvolts and lasting between a mere 0.2 to 3.5 milliseconds. Watts-upn’ova but not supernova, these pulsating bursts give an electric twist to our weather events!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Lightning's Forgetful Strikes

If lightning strikes once, doesn't it get a little "thunder-struck" and vow never to repeat the incident? Shockingly, lightning's memory is worse than that goldfish you kept as a kid: Tall buildings and landmarks can be struck multiple times during a single storm, as they act like natural lightning rods sticking out above their surroundings. Watch out for those sneaky lightning bolts that can even travel horizontally, making even the cautious among us at risk of an electrifying surprise. Stay grounded and seek shelter during thunderstorms!
Source => scied.ucar.edu

7. Speedy Lightning Bolt Travel

Next time you're in a hurry, consider hitching a ride with a lightning bolt: These electric speedsters can bolt through the skies at a whopping 270,000 mph, leaving commercial planes taking notes in their invisible dust.
Source => energyprofessionals.com

8. NYC's Illuminating Dance Lessons

When Zeus cranks up the old electric boogaloo in New York City, the Empire State Building and Lady Liberty get to enjoy some shockingly illuminating dance lessons: The Empire State Building gets struck by lightning frequently during thunderstorms due to its height, and recently, a breathtaking photo captured it being struck simultaneously with the Statue of Liberty! Fear not, urban dwellers, for these electrifying incidents pose no harm thanks to top-notch grounding systems in place to safeguard our colossal skyscrapers and their inhabitants.
Source => silive.com

9. Bolt from the Blue Curveball

Like a high-stakes game of hide and seek with Mother Nature, lightning can throw an unexpected curveball in the form of a "Bolt from the Blue": This rare phenomenon occurs when a lightning bolt strikes tens of kilometers away from a thunderstorm, even in clear skies, with strikes reported up to 74 km away!
Source => severe-weather.eu

10. Celestial Paintbrush of Sprites

You might think you've seen a celestial artist dabbling with their cosmic paintbrush, but don't worry; it's Mother Nature letting her creative juices flow up there: Sprites, a fascinating type of byproduct from positive lightning discharges, create whimsical formations of bluish tendrils and ethereal red-orange flashes high above thunderstorm clouds, resembling an impressionist's masterpiece in our very own sky gallery.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

11. Zeus's Powerful Energy Drink

If Zeus had an energy drink, "positive lightning" would be a key ingredient: This electrifying phenomenon carries 10 times the power of negative lightning, capable of spanning up to 25 miles and occasionally even longer, like the whopping 200-mile bolt that dazzled the Oklahoma sky in 2007, recently confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization as the longest positive lightning strike ever recorded.
Source => mentalfloss.com