Posted on 04/10/2009 12:04:39 PM PDT by Notoriously Conservative
The mingling of lightning and ash seen below may be a "dirty thunderstorm."
The little-understood storms may be sparked when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles in the plume collide to produce static charges just as ice particles collide to create charge in regular thunderstorms.
-National Geographic
Two of nature’s most spectacular forces produced an incredible brew in the skies of Chile as a volcanic eruption met a lightning storm.
Tonnes of dust and ash from the eruption of the Chaitén volcano poured into the night sky just as an electric storm passed overhead.
The resulting collision created a spectacular sight as lightning flickered around the dust cloud amid the orange glow of the volcano.
-UK Times
This took place in the summer of 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at nowthatsnifty.blogspot.com ...
Pretty dramatic shots. Thanks for posting.
Almost primordial.
I think that I saw on Nat Geo or elsewhere that the volcanic ash will create lightning. Any geologists out there that can confirm this? Pretty cool.
Occasionally God paints with a very wild brush.
I find those beautiful.
I wonder how Gore plans to control THIS.
Thank you for posting it.
This is all about a year old. The lightning is generated by the eruption itself, not by any pre-existing thunderstorm.
Oooh! Good zot photos.
The UK times reported it was a storm that past through the volcanic cloud, as cited above.
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