'Bizarre' lightning strike to be studied [View All]

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Art Thomason
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 11, 2005 12:00 AM

A top National Weather Service expert in Phoenix will investigate a powerful lightning strike that "sounded like dynamite exploding," damaging 13 homes in central Mesa on Tuesday afternoon.

"This is beyond the norm," meteorologist David Runyan said. "It's bizarre. It intrigues us. We will seek some means to understand it a little more."

The lightning bolt drawing all the attention caused extensive damage to a home in the 2000 block of East Seventh Avenue, near Broadway and Gilbert roads, as its charge sped to other structures through underground wiring and wet soil. advertisement

Mesa firefighters, who have seen the aftermath of other lightning strikes over the years, said they have never witnessed anything like the effects of the Seventh Avenue strike. They believe the strike, recorded at 4:45 p.m., first hit the home, owned by Al Ogawa and Richard McTevia, and spread its powerful charge underground.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0811weather-lightning.html