Nearly 35,000 lightning strikes hit this province in just days
This spot in Canada just recorded over 34,000 lightning strikes!
In a mere four days, almost 35,000 lightning strikes battered British Columbia last week.
An upper level low was to thank for the severe conditions, travelling slowly northeastwards and providing a highly unstable atmospheric set-up, which was conducive to producing thunderstorms and dry lightning.
Dry lightning is a type of thunderstorm where the rain evaporates before reaching the ground.
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Historically, August is B.C.’s second most active lightning month after July, so this weather is not unusual. However, four successive days of widespread convection is certainly noteworthy. The lightning hit between August 10-13.
While captivating, in that short period of time, 140 new wildfire incidents were caused by lightning across the province. Last year, sixty percent of the fire-starts were lightning-related across B.C.
Fortunately, the B.C. Wildfire Service was well prepared for this weather event last week, with strategically positioned resources focused on initial response.
As a result, more than half of these wildfires are now classified as "out," "being held," or "under control."
On average, more than 40 percent of Canada's wildfire activity is caused by lightning.
"Lightning is a fascinating display of superheated light five times hotter than the sun, and it’s a frequent visitor across Canadian skies, with an average of 2.25 million lightning strikes recorded a year," says Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. "The city of Windsor, Ont. is actually Canada’s most lightning struck region, getting hit every year 109,776 times on average."
Watch the video above for more on this noteworthy lightning event.
