Lightning

[Raider5678]

The other night there was the freakiest lightning storm in have ever seen in the few years I've known what lightning is. A single, white cloud, on an otherwise empty night sky, with stars, started shooting lightning everywhere. Like a giant web of lightning going out from all sides. The odd part is seeing lightning outside of the cloud. Usually when you see lightning its in a cloud, but the other night there were no clouds and it was going right out of it and striking nothing. It was my belief that lightning was a large release of static electricity when something came in range to be struck. Anyway, my question is, what caused the lightning to do what it did? For half an hour, non stop.

[Moontanman]

The other night there was the freakiest lightning storm in have ever seen in the few years I've known what lightning is. A single, white cloud, on an otherwise empty night sky, with stars, started shooting lightning everywhere. Like a giant web of lightning going out from all sides. The odd part is seeing lightning outside of the cloud. Usually when you see lightning its in a cloud, but the other night there were no clouds and it was going right out of it and striking nothing. It was my belief that lightning was a large release of static electricity when something came in range to be struck. Anyway, my question is, what caused the lightning to do what it did? For half an hour, non stop.

 

 

That is interesting, we get lots of marine weather here, lightning is very common, water spouts, thunder snow. Huge bolts of lightning streaking through snow falling at a rate of a foot an hour!

 

Your sighting is indeed odd, too bad you didn't get it on video. I have seen some really bad lightning storms with very little in the way of clouds but I've never seen it without clouds at all..

Edited June 23, 2016 by Moontanman

[Velocity_Boy]

The other night there was the freakiest lightning storm in have ever seen in the few years I've known what lightning is. A single, white cloud, on an otherwise empty night sky, with stars, started shooting lightning everywhere. Like a giant web of lightning going out from all sides. The odd part is seeing lightning outside of the cloud. Usually when you see lightning its in a cloud, but the other night there were no clouds and it was going right out of it and striking nothing. It was my belief that lightning was a large release of static electricity when something came in range to be struck. Anyway, my question is, what caused the lightning to do what it did? For half an hour, non stop.

 

 

Yeah...sounds like heat lightening that is caused due to high moisture content (humidity) in the atmosphere. It is usually exacerbated when a cool front moves through, which clears out the clouds (most of them) but when it comes into contact with the arm moist air, creates the static discharge. I live in Texas where we have this fairly often this time of year, and on into the summer months.

 

I notice you live in PA? If I am not mistaken you guys get pretty humid up there, doncha?

 

http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/274/

Edited June 23, 2016 by Velocity_Boy

[Raider5678]

Yeah...sounds like heat lightening that is caused due to high moisture content (humidity) in the atmosphere. It is usually exacerbated when a cool front moves through, which clears out the clouds (most of them) but when it comes into contact with the arm moist air, creates the static discharge. I live in Texas where we have this fairly often this time of year, and on into the summer months.

 

I notice you live in PA? If I am not mistaken you guys get pretty humid up there, doncha?

 

http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/274/

Yes. It was 84 the day before, and dropped quite a bit. And there was a SINGLE cloud BTW, just most of the sky had none.

[Moontanman]

Yes. It was 84 the day before, and dropped quite a bit. And there was a SINGLE cloud BTW, just most of the sky had none.

 

 

I misread your post, I have indeed seen a single cloud raise unholy hell many times here on the coast..