December 18, 2015 - EARTH - The following constitutes several of the latest reports of lightning strikes, as we continue to track the magnetic polar migration of the Earth.
Lightning strikes kill soldier, fisherman in the Philippines
An Army soldier and a fisherman were killed when they were struck by
lightning in separate incidents during heavy rain Tuesday afternoon
here, police said.
A report received by Sr. Supt. Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City Police
Director, identified the fatalities as Army Cpl. Eduardo R. Talanayan,
29, of the Army's Alpha Co., 1st Infantry Battalion, and Rey M.
Masucang, 43, of barangay Buenavista in Curuan district.
The report said Talanayan was resting near an electric post inside his
outpost at Sitio Malasugat, Barangay Sangali Port Area when lightning
hit, causing his electrocution. Residents in the area took the troop to
the nearby Mindanao Central Sanitarium where he was declared dead on
arrival.
Masucang was onboard a banca with companion Dilario Huesca, 45,
fishing off the sea of the coastal village amid bad weather. This was
when the lightning struck.
Huesca paddled the sea craft to the shore and reported the incident to
the district police office guard who helped Huesca take Masucang's body
to a nearby funeral parlor.
-
The Standard.
Lightning strikes tree next to WL home near Churchill Downs Drive
A lightning strike caused extensive damage at a West Linn home Thursday afternoon.
The lightning struck a tree in between two homes near Churchill Downs Drive and Clubhouse Drive around 1 p.m., according to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. The strike caused a fence to collapse while also blowing out several windows.
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| The strike occurred just after 1 p.m. Thursday, hitting a tree and
blowing out most of the windows on one side of a West Linn home. |
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| The lightning sheered off a portion of the tree next to the property. |
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| A fence next to the tree collapsed when the lighting hit. |
A number of homes also experienced power outages, according to TVFR.
As of Thursday afternoon, the full extent of the damage was unknown. Resident Edith Wilson said she was wrapping packages near the windows when the lightning struck, narrowly avoiding flying debris as the windows blew out.
“I was lucky,” she said. -
Portland Tribune.
Rare winter lightning hits house in Minnesota, US
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| An Orono home was struck by lighting during a rare December bout of thundersnow. © KARE-George Marincel |
Just about everyone across Minnesota will tell you this has not been a run-of-the-mill start to winter.
Snow is hard to come by for most areas of the state, temps have been
unseasonably warm, and it feels a bit more like spring than our cruelest
season.
But Wednesday brought a different winter weather twist for Bill Wolfson
of Orono. He and his wife were sitting in their second-story breakfast
nook around 8:45 a.m. when the home was struck by a lightning bolt,
launched by a system of thunder snow.
DNR climate statistics suggest it is a phenomena that occurs only once every five years or so.
"It was essentially like the 4th of July, we had an explosion up on the rooftop," Wolfson explained. "Smoke, sparks...."
While they didn't see any flames jumping from the structure
there was smoke pouring from the roof vents, convincing Wolfson to call
911. The Excelsior-Long Lake Fire Department responded to make sure
nothing was smoldering inside the attic that would lead to a more
significant fire.
Wolfson then called his contractor, who had just finished a major
remodel on the property, to see what the damage was. Fortunately, the
impact of the lightning strike appears to be minimal.
Orono did not have a corner on the thunder and lightning market Wednesday morning:
Reports of the unusual December occurrence poured into KARE 11 on social media for most of the morning. A reported lightning strike in rural New Prague knocked out power to almost two dozen customers.
The weather system moved east from the Twin Cities all the way down to
Winona before heading into Wisconsin, where thunder was still being
reported as of 11 a.m. The winter fireworks were accompanied by a
mixture of rain and snow.
As for Bill Wolfson, it was a memorable morning that could have turned
out much worse. "It was an odd state of events for December," he
chuckled. -
KARE.
Freak lightning strike injures woman at Wisconsin government center
A Somerset, Wis., woman says she suffered an electrical shock from lightning at the St. Croix County Government Center in Hudson on Monday morning.
Lisa Stambaugh, 43, was on her way into the government center holding an umbrella for protection against a mix of rain and sleet when the lightning flashed at about 9:45 a.m.
“I’m kind of rushing to get in the door, and just before I stepped up onto the curb, I (saw) it hit the top of the umbrella,” Stambaugh said in a phone call Monday afternoon. She thinks the electricity passed through the metal post of the umbrella and into her thumb and hand.
Stambaugh said she wasn’t knocked off her feet or badly injured, but that her heart rate increased and she got a headache. She also reported having muscle spasms and a swollen right arm.
She wasn’t feeling any better about two hours later and decided to see a doctor at Westfield Hospital & Clinic in New Richmond.
“I didn’t feel very good,” she said. “I kind of was real shaky. I thought I would start feeling better, but I wasn’t, so I went in.”
Stambaugh said she was at the hospital for three hours.
“I was treated for electrical shock. That’s what they labeled it,” she said. “A crazy thing to happen in December, for sure.”
Stambaugh said she was told that she would have some muscle weakness for a couple of days, and that she should drink a lot of fluid to prevent a loss of liver function.
The St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department says a surveillance camera at the government center recorded video of a lightning flash as Stambaugh was nearing the building.
Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Howe, who works in the department’s Court Services Unit, and Chief Deputy Scott Knudson reviewed the video after being contacted by the Star-Observer about the incident.
A friend of Stambaugh’s reported the incident to the Star-Observer and provided Stambaugh's phone number so a reporter could talk to her about it.
Chief Deputy Scott Knudson said Stambaugh didn’t report the incident to the sheriff’s department.
Knudson said surveillance video shows a flash of light and Stambaugh pointing outside after entering the building. It doesn’t show a direct strike, he said.
“It is inconclusive that lightning did strike anywhere around there,” said Knudson. “It could have been the electricity in the air, because her umbrella does go over.”
There is a flagpole in front of the government center and antennas on top of its roof.
Stambaugh said she asked the security guards just inside the front entrance to the government center if they saw what happened.
“I think they thought I was joking, but I totally wasn’t joking,” she said.
One this is certain. It was strange weather for Dec. 16 in Hudson.
A light mist turned to rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, and then to sleet and snow. Later, the sun appeared for short spells in places around the Twin Cities metro.
There were multiple reports of lightning strikes, and the weather contributed to many traffic accidents and vehicles sliding off the road. -
Grand Forks Herald.
Driver makes lucky escape after lightning strikes car
A driver was lucky to escape injury after a huge bolt of lightning struck his car.
Filmed
in Rutherford, New South Wales, the video shows a car park being
pummeled by hail and high winds. Captured by Tim McDonald, it shows his
friend Jason Tait moving a truck indoors to avoid it getting damaged by
the hail. Filming from the safety of a house, McDonald was probably not
expecting what was to come.
All of a sudden a lightning strike hits the truck. The lightning
then strikes an electrical pole, sending sparks flying across the car
park as the transformer explodes.
Incredibly, Tait managed to
escape the encounter without any injuries. It just goes to show the
importance of taking care in dangerous conditions. -
AOL.
Plane flying from Darwin to Alice Springs struck by lightning
A plane flying from Darwin to Alice Springs was struck by lightning
Wednesday evening, understood to be about the time of the plane’s
descent.
Wednesday’s afternoon storm activity contributed
to the strike, but it was shortly before landing and Qantas confirmed
there was no damage to the aircraft.
There were no injuries and the plane landed safely in Alice Springs as intended.
Lightning strikes on aircraft are known to occur and not cause damage.
Qantas engineers were on the tarmac when the plane landed to assess the aircraft. -
NT News.
Death toll increase to 7 in Zambia church lightning strikes
7 people have died after being struck by lightning at a church and a village in Eastern and Southern provinces. The deaths occurred during heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday. In Eastern Province’s Vubwi district, the four that died were among congregants at Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Parish on Tuesday when lightning struck at about 11:00 hours.
Seven other victims that were seriously burnt have been admitted to Mwami Mission Hospital. Eastern Province police deputy commissioner Patrick Bili confirmed the incident. “Both the injured and the dead are adults but we are yet to determine their ages and gender.
They were putting a floor in the church when lightning struck,” he said. Chipata Diocese Bishop George Lungu said the catechist and another man with two ladies were doing some maintenance works in the church when they met their fate. Bishop Lungu said doctors have described the condition of the injured as stable. He said it is the first time that such a tragedy was experienced in the church. Vubwi district council secretary John Kamanga, who visited Mwami Mission Hospital, said doctors at the hospital confirmed that four people had died while others were injured.
In the Pemba incident in Southern Province, among the three dead persons are a couple that died on the spot after lightning struck their houses following a downpour on Monday. The lightning killed Kennedy Moonga, 27 and his 31-year-old wife, Monile Michelo, who was burnt beyond recognition. The couple’s seven children were also injured, leaving three of them with serious burns.
They are admitted to Pemba clinic. And 81-year-old Victoria Machaka also died during the storm which started on Sunday and continued on Monday. Southern Province police commissioner Goldwin Phiri and Pemba district commissioner Reginald Mugoba confirmed in separate interviews the incidents which happened on Monday in Munamoomba and Hamazongo villages. He said two villages in Pemba received heavy rains on Monday, which destroyed several houses other valuable properties. -
Zambia Daily Mail.
