At 3/20/06 08:24 AM, Zerolimit wrote:
Ball lightning?
That was what i was going to say. Here is some facts from a web site.
Usually occurs during or right after a thunderstorm. Has been created without any detected electrical storm.
In most surveys about 70% occured right after a lightning strike.
Seasonal variations for the frequency of occurance are the same as for normal lightning, with the majority in the summer.
Other than being associated with normal lightning from a time perspective, ball lightning seems to be totally different than normal lightning.
In some cases, the ball was observed to descend down the path of recent lightning strike and stop near the ground at the bottom. In some cases the ball appeared at the impact point.
No current theories can convincingly explain how a such a ball could be created directly by a lightning bolt.
In a shockingly high percentage of cases the balls actually entered buildings through windows and doors.
Similar balls have been reported as eminating from tornadoes, cyclones, and hurricanes. In these cases high electric fields are present, like in a lightning strike