"And The Lightning Strikes"

   If you know me, then you know that I absolutely love weather!  Specifically, lightning storms!  Last night I got to take a few pictures, for the first time, of lightning with my shiny new toy.  It is hard to get a good shot of lightning as you don’t know when it is going to strike.  I may have taken around 100 pictures just to get the few decent ones… but it was so worth it.  Another thing I love is when you are sitting outside waiting for the storm and watching the lightning, it will be completely still and then all of the sudden the wind before the storm will come.  Oh man, I just LOVE that part of the storms aso. 

Here are a few of the snap shots I got… (Some may be a little blurry here and there.. The wind was nuts!)

There have been times where lightning has come a little too close for comfort… Here are a a couple little fun facts about lightning…

• Lightning bolts are only about the size of a quarter to half dollar around.  The reason it looks to big is the brightness of the light around it.
• The temperature of lightning is about 15,000 to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit… The suns, 9,000!
• Around the earth there are about 100 lightning strikes per second.
• Lightning also occurs on Jupiter, Venus, Saturn and Uranus.
• The fear of lightning is known as keraunophobia.  The fear of thunderstorms is brontophobia.
• You can, in fact, be struck by lightning in your home.  The electricity from the strike can go through the electrical stuff in your home before hitting ground.  This is why they say not to use cordless phones or any kind of electrical equipment.  Also, taking a shower, doing dishes and washing clothes are not advised. 
• Lightning is not confirmed to thunder storms… Also in volcanic eruptions, intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms and in large hurricanes. 

Anywho, I just thought that I would share a little bit of my love for weather with ya!!

~Ash