VIDEO: Lightning Strikes Ocean

Clint Blevins captured stunning footage of lightning striking off of Florida’s Daytona Beach in June 2015. Even though, with up to one billion volts of electricity and temperatures about five times hotter than the surface of the sun, lightning is obviously very dangerous, it is always fascinating to witness.

Here are some quick facts about lightning and thunder, provided by Wikipedia.

Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. Daylighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on occupants.

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending on the distance and nature of the lightning, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble (brontide). The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within a bolt of lightning. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, similar to a sonic boom, which produces the sound of thunder, often referred to as a clap, crack, peal of thunder, or boom.

Read the full story about Clint’s footage below, provided by The San Francisco Globe.

Cllint Blevins captured stunning footage of lightning strikes off of Florida’s Daytona Beach in June 2015. In slow motion, the video clearly shows strikes in the distance rapidly followed by a much closer strike that flares several times before fading, leaving a vertical streak of burning air.

Clint Blevins captured stunning footage of lightning strikes off of Florida’s Daytona Beach in June 2015. In slow motion, the video clearly shows strikes in the distance rapidly followed by a much closer strike that flares several times before fading, leaving a vertical streak of burning air.

The flaring is actually a series of secondary strikes. “It is very possible that a main strike can be followed by 30 or 40 secondary strikes,” says an April 2000 article in HowStuffWorks. “Depending on the time delay between strikes, we may see what looks like one long-duration main strike, or a main strike followed by other flashes along the path of the main strike.”

With up to one billion volts of electricity and temperatures about five times hotter than the surface of the sun, lightning is obviously very dangerous. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, the odds of being struck by lightning in the United States are about 1 in 3,000.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal Online reports that Florida is the “lightning capital” of the U.S., reporting the most lightning deaths in 2014 and 2015. As of June 25, 2016, there had been three lightning deaths in Florida for the year, including one in Daytona Beach.

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