Catatumbo thunderstorm

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Lightning in the night

The Catatumbo thunderstorms ( Spanish Relámpago del Catatumbo ) are a common weather phenomenon that occurs during 140 to 160 nights a year near the mouth of the Río Catatumbo (hence the name) in the Maracaibo Lake in Venezuela . Lightning-rich thunderstorms occur over and over again over the same area with great regularity.

Phenomena

These thunderstorms are usually visible from afar and are therefore perceived in a special way. The discharge of the lightning bolts seems to be almost silent. Of course, thunder arises, but because of the great distance it can no longer be heard (compare weather lights ). The yellow to orange color of the lightning bolts, which is often described, can be attributed to the distance of the observer, since, as in the red setting, short-wave light is more strongly scattered in the atmosphere between the thunderstorm and the observer. Violet and blue are thus filtered out.

Furthermore, from a distance it looks as if cloud lightning occurs almost exclusively . But the observer sees the thunderstorm in profile, which favors the view of cloud lightning; in addition, the view into the lower area of ​​the storm clouds is often blocked.

Explanation

According to a popular opinion, the accumulation of thunderstorms is related to the leakage of methane gas in the swamps and bogs on Lake Maracaibo. However, this is unlikely. Rather, meteorological conditions prevail in the area particularly frequently and regularly, which favor long-lasting and lightning-rich night thunderstorms: Lake Maracaibo evaporates large amounts of water due to its high water temperature. In the night, cool mountain winds, falling from the Andes, come over the warm lake. The wind convergence together with the damp, unstable air stratification favor deep-reaching thunderstorm cells. If these conditions are not met, there may be longer breaks. A drought at the beginning of 2010 led to a longer interruption.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stephen Davenport: Fire in the Sky. MeteoGroup , November 26, 2007, archived from the original on August 30, 2011 ; Retrieved March 30, 2011 .
  2. ^ A b Dan Robinson: Catatumbo lightning in Venezuela: Overview and Myths. Midwest 64 Multimedia, August 2010, archived from the original on September 28, 2011 ; accessed on March 31, 2011 .
  3. ↑ Thunderstorm blog series - the areas with the most lightning bolts in the world. Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology , June 21, 2017, accessed on June 21, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Rory Carroll : Drought extinguishes Venezuela's lightning phenomenon. The Guardian , March 5, 2010, accessed March 31, 2011 .

Coordinates: 9 ° 20 '39 "  N , 71 ° 42' 38"  W.