Lightning strike video close-up « Roy Spencer, PhD

We dwell subsequent to a 1,500 ft tall TV tower which regularly will get hit by lightning. We’re so shut, in truth, that it’s troublesome to get good images as a result of the world simply above the tower high is at an elevation angle of 70 deg. seen from our yard, which is just too steep to take footage by way of a window, and for outside images will trigger rain to fall on the digital camera lens.

So, regardless of hundreds of lightning strikes we’ve got witnessed and heard over time, I seldom try images or video. Yesterday was one of many uncommon situations the place the thunderstorm anvil trailing downwind of the approaching storm was sending out lightning strokes at common, ~2 minute intervals earlier than the rain started. That is one of the best time to look at the lightning for us, normally by mendacity down on an out of doors lounge chair and searching virtually straight up.

My digital camera gear was nonetheless within the automobile from a brief journey to take images of Comet NEOWISE the earlier morning. Sensing this was an opportunity to seize some good video, I ran out to the automobile, retrieved my digital camera backpack and a tripod, and ran to the yard. I arrange the digital camera and tripod in report time, shortly adjusted the main target manually, and hit the report button.

In actually lower than 1 second after urgent the report button, one of the best strike of the storm occurred. Right here’s an animated GIF of the occasion… 20 video body captures at 1/24 sec intervals (the vertical scale is exaggerated as a result of I pressured WordPress to load the full-resolution file… click on on the video to see the correct perspective):

There are loads of attention-grabbing options that I gained’t go into right here, besides I particularly like how the ionized channel breaks up into pockets of glowing air throughout dissipation, right here’s one of many frames exhibiting that construction: