Intro

Intro

Objective 03/05/2012Describe the formation of thunderstorms and lightning.

What are your chances of getting struck by lightning 7 times in your life?1 in 16,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (16 septillion)

THUNDERSTORMS

Thunderstorms Thunderstorm Brief, heavy

storm consisting of: Rain Strong winds Lightning Thunder

Thunderstorms Where do they

form? Usually along cold

fronts

Thunderstorms Formation 1. Warm moist air

rises, sometimes forcefully when it’s pushed by an incoming cold air mass

2. As water vapor condenses, it releases energy which fuels the storm

Thunderstorms Formation (cont.) 3. The cyclic

movement of warm air rising (updrafts) and cool air sinking (downdrafts) maintain the storms energy

4. Eventually, storm runs out of energy and dissipates

Thunderstorms Severe

Thunderstorms Can produce one

or more of the following conditions: High winds Hail Flash floods tornadoes

Thunderstorms Lightning Electric discharge

that takes place between two oppositely charged surfaces

Between cloud and ground or…

Between two clouds or…

Between two parts of the same cloud.

Thunderstorms

Lightning Formation Drawing…

Thunderstorms Thunder Rapidly

expanding and contracting air from a lightning strike creates sound waves

Thunderstorms Thunderstorm

Safety Lightning is the

most dangerous and it is attracted to tall objects

Stay away from: Trees Bodies of water

In an open area? crouch down

Roy Sullivan Roy Sullivan biography Roy Cleveland Sullivan

was a Forest Ranger in Virginia who had an incredible attraction to lightning... or rather it had an attraction to him. Over his 36-year career as a ranger, Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times - and survived each jolt, but not unscathed. His seventh strike put him in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Lightning strikes: In 1942, the first lightning strike shot through

Sullivan's leg and knocked his big toenail off. In 1969, a second strike burned off his eyebrows

and knocked him unconscious. In 1970, another strike left his shoulder seared. In 1972 his hair was set on fire and Roy had to

dump a bucket of water over his head to cool off. On August 7, 1973, another bolt ripped through

his hat and hit him on the head, set his hair on fire again, threw him out of his truck and knocked his left shoe off.

On June 5, 1976, a sixth strike in 1976 left him with an injured ankle.

On June 25th, 1977, the last lightning bolt to hit Roy Sullivan sent him to the hospital with chest and stomach burns.