The ‘everlasting’ storm
Stories from Physics
for 11-14
14-16
Typically, there are between 1,500 and 2,000 thunderclouds active at any given time around the world, producing a global positive current of around 1.25 kA flowing from the tops of thunderclouds to the ionosphere.
Even so, lightning is typically not a common occurrence. But visitors to one part of Venezuela stand a very good chance of encountering a storm. At the entry point of the Catatumbo River into Lake Maracaibo, a microclimate is created in which 10-hour-long lightning storms are observed around 150 nights of the year. The storms produce an average of 1.2 million lightning flashes a year, contributing 0.2 A to the global total lightning current.
References
B. M. Smimov, Microphysics of Atmospheric Phenomena, Basel, Springer International Publishing, 2017, p. 70
V. Cooray, An Introduction to Lightning, Dordrecht, Springer, 2015, p. 69
