Learn more about Super Lightning Bolts and how to fortify against them.
Lightning strikes are an all too common danger that property owners face each day, without even realizing it. A lightning strike can cause substantial damage and lead to extensive expenses if your property is struck either directly or nearby. Lightning storms are most common in the summer months, but the largest bolts often occur between November and February in the northern hemisphere. These “super lightning bolts” are 1,000 times stronger than an average lightning strike and occur more often over the ocean than on land.
Here are a few common facts about super lightning strikes and why implementing lightning protection for your property is a wise investment:
Scientists Remain Unsure of the Cause of Super Lightning Strikes
The cause of super lightning strikes remains a mystery for scientists worldwide. However, the latest research suggests that these super lightning strikes may be due to sunspots and cosmic rays deep in outer space! The highest number of super bolts occurred in late 2013, and the number of strikes was nearly as high in 2014. However, these strikes make up less than one-thousandth of a percent of all lightning strikes across the entire globe.
How Scientists Detect Super Lightning Bolts
Researchers used 100 lightning detection stations across six continents to detect the frequency of lightning strikes. These scientists were able to listen to lightning-produced radio waves by tuning to a very low frequency. This team of researchers recorded two billion lightning strikes between 2010 to 2018.
A lightning strike was classified as “super” if the discharge strength was greater than one million joules within a specified bandwidth. These measurements only consisted of a tiny slice of the lightning’s energy, as the total power of a super bolt ranges between ten billion and one trillion watts of electrical energy.
Over 8,000 Super Bolts Have Been Recorded
The researchers were able to record over 8,000 super bolts between 2010 and 2018, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. As mentioned earlier, most of these lightning strikes occurred between November and February. These super bolts were especially prevalent in the Mediterranean Sea, the Andes mountain range, and the northeast Atlantic Ocean.
Contact Lightning Master Corporation to Learn More About Lightning Risks
Lightning Master Corporation provides lightning protection for oil, gas, chemical companies, and numerous other industries. Mitigate the risk of a direct or nearby strike to your facility using our patented technology, structural lightning protection, risk assessments, site surveys and more.
Contact Lightning Master Corporation at 727-447-6800 or email us at [email protected] to learn more about super lightning bolts.