A bolt from the blue

According to the Miami Herald, David Canales, a landscaper, was killed this past Thursday by lightning that came out of a clear blue sky. It's a bizarre phenomenon called a "bolt from the blue":

Dan Dixon, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said that when Canales was hit, a typical afternoon storm was forming but nowhere near the area.

Weather data showed that lightning activity picked up north of Pinecrest shortly before 1 p.m., as a storm gathered momentum and swept through Coral Gables and then downtown.

''Most lightning will come from the base of a thunderstorm, inside that rain-shaft area,'' Dixon explained. ``But occasionally, what we call a bolt from the blue comes out of a thunderstorm still several miles away.''. . .

The bolts normally travel horizontally away from the storm and reach farther than typical lightning, then curve to the ground. . . .

Dixon said protecting yourself from such unexpected lightning is difficult.

''They are very unpredictable and very dangerous. We urge people to stay indoors even if you hear thunder only faintly in the distance,'' Dixon said. ``If you're close enough to hear thunder, you're close enough to be struck by lightning.''

The photo is from NOAA

Comments

[HA HA HA]

eek! i had teh vry crepy experiarince of redign tihs just aftar redign the oniian an kep thigkgning it was hte omian an unarstanging it acordignly. weieerid!

[gail]

Hahaha, HaHaHa! Where have you been? I miss your singular orthography.

[ken]

On first reading I thought the meteorologist's name was Don Dixon (music producer and recording artist). Guess his last disc (The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room) influenced my reading ability.

[HA HA HA]

gial - i bean in protlend mane! workigign alot an i havea grilfernd.

haveu sean this btw? cant remememmber whe're i fond it.

[gail]

Arlington, yes, I've seen that test. It's hysterical. Great news about the girlfriend and lotsa work must mean the business is going strong. Kewl.