WOH, MASSIVE lighting storm in DC right now

[ShaneGR]

Lightning coming down every second right now.... everywhere. I've lived in South Florida, the lighting capitol of the world, and I've never seen a strom like this!

[htuttle]

1. Probably one of Poindexter's gadgets going haywire again...

[ShaneGR]

3. It's so bad right now the CSPAN feed to Chicago got cutoff!

Literally coming down every second now. No rain... just lightning.

[sfecap]

2. Just knocked C Span off the air

during DK's closing statement...

[wellstone_democrat]

4. Well, must be God looking for the Chimp

Instead of "talking" to him he's using his "outdoor voice" and a flashlight....


(and, no, I'm not anti-religion, I'm anti-Bush and his cynical use of faith...)

[DCDemo]

5. It is AWESOME!

I love DC thunderstorms. This one is weird, but I live close to the river and it's a different pattern here than elsewhere in the area.

No rain yet, lots of distant long, rumbling boomers. Fantastic - can't wait to go for a walk with my sweetie!

[matt819]

6. Misery loves company

No lightning to speak of in New England, but an ark would be nice right about now. I am fed up with this humidity and rain.

[MUAD_DIB]

20. The rain is okay...we need it, but

the can send the humidity back to whatever hell that it has come from.

[phegger]

7. Gee...

...I thought maybe DK's yelling caused a blown fuse or something.

[Flubadubya]

8. Dear God...

Mr. Bush is not at the White House in D.C. Please try the "Western White House" in Crawford, Texas.

[Wcross]

10. Worse than usual?

We had a storm last week that put down 8" of rain in one part of Nashville. Last evening, a storm came in and destroyed a docking area that was hosting a fishing tournemnet, the whole dock was blown over and boats capsized. This year has been BAD in Tennessee as far as weather. Memphis is still has power out in areas from a storm more than a month ago.

[DCDemo]

11. Not bad..powerful

And amazing sound effects, at least near the river, with the echoes up and down it.

[Darranar]

12. Maybe the storm is telling him to come back...

where he belongs.

[wellstone_democrat]

14. "where he belongs?"

sorry that phrase gave me the willies.

I'll settle for "get back to work!"

[Darranar]

15. You're right...

"where he belongs" is the wrong phrasing. But really, there's this new terrorist threat, the occupation of Iraq, the bombing in Indonesia, and heck, the presidential election is coming up... What the heck is he doing at his ranch?

[carols]

17. Maybe Dick and Karl are in the lab - I mean undisclosed location - again

Last time that happened - well you know Karen Hughes? There really is no other logical explanation.
Carol

[arwalden]

9. It's Pretty Strange! Strobe Lightning. So Bright That ...

the electric eyes for my security lighting is "blinded" and the lights in my back yard go out for a few seconds after the lightning strikes.

-- Allen

[Darranar]

13. Here in suburban Maryland...

there's only a bit of rain and some thunder in the distance. Haven't seen any lightning yet.

[carols]

16. I'm a weather geek and I am SOOOO envious

I live in Central Florida where we are having a lot of rain this year, but no spectacular lightening. At least not along the coast. I am absolutely GREEN with envy!
Carol

[inthecorneroverhere]

18. lightning

Awwwww. I tend to hide in most central part of the house when there is a lot of lightning. I'll get off the internet, if I'm on it. I'll disconnect the phone. Fortunately, where I live is located between two hills, so it's not really likely the lightning is going to strike the house.

I guess hearing a story about a guy who got killed in a lightning storm while delivering beer kegs (metal, of course) to a dockside casino a few years ago scared me of lightning.

Dry lightning with no or little rain is the fiercest. It always seems that the lightning is worst before the rain, rather than toward the end of the rainstorm.

Can make some awesome photos in a lightning storm if you time it right, though.

[diamond14]

19. typical that shrub makes no plan for when radio stations are

knocked off air....

has there been any planning to protect us during terror attacks...NO...

[DifferentStrokes]

21. Could be St. Elmo's fire

or ball lightning.

http://www.mysterylights.com/types/stelmo/

St. Elmo's Fire is luminescent electrical discharge observed on masts and other tall "poles", including spires, during or immediately preceeding/following thunderstorms.

St. Elmo's Fire is a scientifically explained and accepted phenomenon, although there is not a huge corpus of work devoted to the study and investigation of it. St. Elmo's Fire will often be confused and/or offered as an explanation for Ball Lightning, but is almost certainly a distinct phenomenon, if not related in some way. In particular, St. Elmo's Fire always remains attached to an object, whereas Ball Lightning forms a mobile ball of light.

Here's another link with a detailed history:

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/stelmo.htm

[rppper]

22. we have them every evening here.....

....in the central florida area...at least we have for the last month or so. orlando gets the best ones, but the mixture of the storm fronts mergeing from the ocean and peninsula make for some great shows in the cocoa/daytona area as well.....

[MiltonLeBerle]

23. A house on our block got hit by lightning last week and started on fire

about 3AM...it sounded like a BOMB going off, and woke both the wife and I and the 3 cats, and set off about a dozen car alarms.

[SayitAintSo]

24. God "Smiting" the Shrub .....

:)

[KCDem]

25. aw man, wish I were there!

I LOVE lightning storms.... think they're the most romantic feat of nature ever. What I wouldn't give to be in one with the righ person.

Enjoy!

[Pert_UK]

26. Fluoro strips, flashlights and lampstands cascading from the sky..........

Sorry - couldn't resist commenting on the typo!

:evilgrin:

P.

[renegade000]

27. huh i'm very confused...i live in arlington

and its completely quiet

[Insider]

28. i can see it from maryland

looks like south...baltimore. sounds like a humdinger

[greyl]

29. I'm in Williamsburg tonight, and it's been 3 hours of great lightning...

and thunder. It started during the AFL-CIO forum and hasn't gone away yet. No really hard rain and barely a light wind, but man!, lightning from one direction or another at intervals of 2 secs max has been the norm.

[DEM FAN]

30. Dumb Luck. Bush Is In Crawford Texas. Damn.

:-(