Storm Damage Ball Lightning

1/17/2020 (Permalink)

For Storm Damage Restoration, Call us today! 530-222-0200

The strangest things we experience happen not in our imagination, but reality. This holds true for our weather and the causes of storm damage.

Imagine yourself in a setting almost 400 years ago, technology isn't quite what it is now, you are sitting in a church and all of a sudden a glowing orb floats into the window. As much as this sounds like science fiction, this, in fact, did happen!

In 1638 at a church in England was the first record of Ball Lightning. Although we don't fully understand ball lightning, we do have some clue of its attributes, and how it is formed.

Although its presence and effects are not as common as lightning storm damage, the danger of experiencing one is real. Ball Lightning is hotter than the surface of the sun and moves erratically. They can be white, red, blue, yellow, or orange, and have tendrils that seem to jerk the ball around. The most commonly accepted theory on how it is created was introduced by John Abrahamson of New Zealand. He believes when lightning strikes the ground it turns the naturally occurring silicon from the soil into vapor. The vapor cools, turns into dust, then the particles are attracted to each other by the charge from the lightning. This results in the particles binding together into a lightning ball.

If you happen to see ball lightning, run! If you have experienced storm damage, and need storm damage restoration, don't run, call the professionals at SERVPRO of North Shasta, Trinity & Greater Tehama Counties!

530-222-0200