I’m sure I wasn’t the only person in the Puget Sound region who was shocked into wakefulness by a loud crash of thunder this morning. I was thrilled — in a positive sense — that it happened.
In my 11½ years as a Seattle resident, I recall exactly zero times when I’ve experienced a real, honest-to-god thunderstorm before today. On those very few occasions when we’ve had any lightning/thunder at all, it was always just a single flash and crash. And that one solitary event was often water-cooler fodder the next day.
That’s not how it was where I grew up. No, I’m not talking about Tornado Alley or any of those midwestern states where you could see that line of thunderstorms approaching for an hour or two before it hit. I’m from South Jersey (Exit 4, as we like to describe it). We had plenty of electrical storms there as well. The main difference was that we couldn’t see them coming as easily, since we had trees and hills and buildings there.
I love thunderstorms. Love the way the air seems to turn yellowish as the storm nears. Love to watch the sheets of rain as they pour down (under a non-conductive roof, that is). Once, when I lived in Pittsburgh, we sat on the front porch and saw an electrical transformer on a telephone pole across the street completely shorted out by a lightning hit … sparks, almost fireworks, and of course the neighborhood was suddenly without power.
I wonder whether very many Washingtonians know how to estimate how far away a lightning flash happens. It’s a simple formula, but why would anyone who grew up around here be familiar with it?
So, am I right or wrong about this? If you’re a Washington (or maybe just PacNW west of the Cascades) native, do you know how to calculate that distance? Do you even know that such an estimate is possible?
If you do know how to figure it, just say so; don’t reveal the formula. Wouldn’t want to let the other guys know about it too soon.
Yep, I’ve known how to estimate the distance since I was a kid and I’ve lived here all my life. I’m pretty surprised you’ve never been in a thunder storm here. While they aren’t super frequent, I’d say there is usually at least one a year.
Yep one mile for every 5 seconds. A lot of us grew up hiking and sailing and such and learned it from that.
Oops, guess I must have skipped that last paragraph the first time though. Feel free to edit my comment.
The thunderstorms here aren’t as frequent and severe as they are “down home.” Nothin’ like a good ole Southern thunder-bumper to cool off a hot evenin’!
Can’t remember from grade school days how to calculate.
But YES, that was an exciting thunderstorm this morning! I was raised in Phoenix and we had wonderful storms, especially during monsoons. We just don’t get them enough here in Seattle but when we do it smells great and feels refreshing.
Over here in Redmond, we’ve had some doozies…the kind that make you sit up in the middle of the night.
One difference between the T-storms in the Midwest or East coast and here is that the tops of the Cumulonimbus clouds seem to be MUCH lower here, so that you seem more in the mix.
A couple of weekends ago, I was camping at Lion Rock Spring, at 6,200 feet. I had thunderstorms happening on and off all weekend–but I was high enough to be IN the T-storm. Not a drop of rain…instead it was all hail. Fun stuff!
I’ve honestly never seen thunder and lightning like this before up here in PA, especially for as long it’s been going on. I’ve seen worse when I lived in Reno, but those storms were always fast-moving – I never saw a storm down there that took more than say, thirty minutes or so to completely pass through the area.
Yes I know the formula.
No I don’t get your romantic attachment to this. I was right under it and I slept through it. My companion was actually angry because it kept her awake and cringing for hours. I just noticed the occasional big one…
And yes it went on over here for a couple of hours at least. Actually a rather extreme event.
It did sound a little like Alabama for a while. Well, the natural part, not the noises that have been coming from the political goons there lately. Then again Friday night one of the cable channels ran Twister. That served as something of a reminder of how very fortunate we are to live here.
Yes, I’ve known the formula for quite some time, both for miles and for meters. On the other hand, one doesn’t need a formula when lightening strikes the tree across the street. “Loud” isn’t quite the right word.
Out where I live by Hood Canal there was a big lightning strike this afternoon on a tree about 200′ away from the house. I was looking through the kitchen window and saw it when it happened. I had never seen lighting that close before. The sound was almost instantaneous and it just about shook the house apart. Poor little Kitty Kat didn’t like that and neither did I.
One summer as a kid I would hunt for arrowheads in the desert outside Beaver, Utah. I’d be out in the middle of nowhere and see a lightning storm coming at me and there was little to do but lie low and ride it out. Sagebrush was the tallest thing around. It sure looked cool but it got scary a few times. And there were a lot of arrowheads out there and they were quite easy to find. I’d just walk around looking at the ground for the glint of obsidian. It would be either an arrowhead or just a piece of obsidian. I filled a big Mason jar full to the brim with arrowheads over that summer.
That lightning strike today was damn close.