Rapid Fire
Catatumbo Lightning
- 13 May 2024
- 2 min read
Catatumbo lightning is a natural phenomenon that occurs over the Catatumbo River in Venezuela, where lightning strikes almost continuously.
- The strikes occur for up to 160 nights in a year, with an average of 28 lightning strikes per minute at its peak.
- This phenomenon primarily happens at the mouth of the Catatumbo River, where it meets Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in Latin America. It is also among the oldest water bodies on the planet.
- Warm, moist air from the Caribbean Sea is pushed towards the Andes mountains, where it collides with cooler air descending from the peaks.
- This collision creates a perfect storm of sorts, as the warmer air is forced to rise rapidly by the shape of the local landscape.
- It cools and condenses, forming towering cumulonimbus clouds. The combination of strong winds and temperature differentials generates electrical charges within these clouds.
- The cumulonimbus clouds sometimes reach heights of more than 5 km loaded up on static electricity. When the electrical potential within the clouds becomes too great, it discharges in the form of lightning.
Read more: Report on Lightning Strikes
