What's more current than the weather?

[footfootfoot]

He was your countryman, Dana.

@ Ortho, I've put some of his songs on that disc for you...

[orthodoc]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

@ Ortho, I've put some of his songs on that disc for you...

Thank you, foot!

[Lamplighter]

The Baltimore/Chicago football game at Soldiers Field, Chicago,
has been delayed due to a lightning storm.
All the fans in the seating are were asked to move under cover,
and everyone on the field left for locker rooms, etc.

The squares on this radar map were lightning strikes...

[Lamplighter]

The above map of lightning strikes shows both positive and
negative strikes. Here is a brief explanation...

NOAA
National Weather Service

The Positive and Negative Side of Lightning

The previous section describes what is called "negative lightning",
because there is the transfer of negative charge from the cloud to the ground.
However, not all lightning forms in the negatively charged region under the thunderstorm base.
<snip>
Positive lightning makes up less than 5% of all strikes.
However, despite a significantly lower rate of occurrence,
positive lightning is particularly dangerous for several reasons.
Since it originates in the upper levels of a storm, the amount of air
it must burn through to reach the ground usually much greater.

Therefore, its electric field typically is much stronger than a negative strike.
Its flash duration is longer, and its peak charge and potential can be ten times greater
than a negative strike; as much as 300,000 amperes and one billion volts!

Some positive strikes can occur within the parent thunderstorm and strike the ground
beneath the cloud. However, many positive strikes occur near the edge
of the cloud or strike MORE THAN 10 MILES AWAY, where you may not perceive
any risk nor hear any thunder.

Also, positive flashes are believed to be responsible for a large percentage
of forest fires and power line damage. Thus, positive lightning is much more lethal
and causes greater damage than negative lightning.