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Rare Footage of St Elmo's Fire as Hurricane Approaches
BBC ^
| 8/29
Posted on 08/29/2023 5:25:52 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Hurricane Idalia is barrelling towards Florida and forecasters warn it is extremely dangerous. This rare footage of St Elmo's Fire was captured by the pilots from MacDill Air Force Base.
The Air Force Base said on X (formerly Twitter): "During the evacuation, the 50th ARS recorded St. Elmo’s fire, a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created in an atmospheric electric field."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
TOPICS: Astronomy; Weather
KEYWORDS: florida; hurricane; idalia; pilots; stelmosfire
To: nickcarraway
2
posted on
08/29/2023 5:27:15 PM PDT
by
dfwgator
(Endut! Hoch Hech!)
To: nickcarraway
If that stuff starts coming toward me, I’m going to be a man in motion.
3
posted on
08/29/2023 5:31:15 PM PDT
by
ClearCase_guy
(They say "Our Democracy" but they mean Cosa Nostra.)
To: nickcarraway
I can see a new horizon underneath the blazin’ sky
4
posted on
08/29/2023 5:31:34 PM PDT
by
Tanniker Smith
(Rome didn't fall in a day, either)
To: nickcarraway
That's not St. Elmo's Fire, that's straight up electrostatic discharge. St. Elmo's Fire (as the name suggests) is more of a glow (more like an odd
flame), basically a
corona discharge.
I once had the privilege of seeing an entire pine tree light up with St. Elmo's Fire during a thunderstorm (the mountain peak I was on was physically
inside the thundercloud). Privilege, and terror: I was sheltering under that tree, and I knew what it meant. The subsequent parade of groundstrokes put any version of
War of the Worlds to shame...
5
posted on
08/29/2023 5:38:15 PM PDT
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: nickcarraway
6
posted on
08/29/2023 5:42:00 PM PDT
by
texas booster
(Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
To: nickcarraway
Well, THIS is very disappointing; I came here looking for Rob Lowe, obviously.
7
posted on
08/29/2023 5:45:43 PM PDT
by
TXBlair
(We will not forget Benghazi.)
To: verum ago
I’m glad I’m not the only one.
I was looking at that and staying that not St Elmo fire because it sure not like any St Elmo fire description I’ve ever read
8
posted on
08/29/2023 5:46:05 PM PDT
by
tophat9000
(Tophat90000)
To: TXBlair
He may be here somewhere.
To: verum ago
“That’s not St Elmo’s Fire,,,”
You are correct. I have seen St Elmo’s Fire and that’s not it.
To: nickcarraway
I’ve seen that in many cockpits over the years...
11
posted on
08/29/2023 6:24:32 PM PDT
by
maddog55
(The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)
To: nickcarraway
Wow! Cool!!!
Hope everyone is prepared, and safe...
To: Cold Heart
You are correct. I have seen St Elmo’s Fire and that’s not it.
By any chance are you aware of any good photography of it? I've never seen a photo of anything like that pine tree lighting up before the lightning started; the best I can do is show people pictures of corona discharge and tell them "red-purple version of that, off every needle, and dialed to 11". It remains both the most beautiful and most terrifying thing I've ever seen (it preceded a 25 minute barrage of groundstrokes that wrecked fully half the trees in the area) and I suspect it will retain the "most beautiful thing I've seen" title until my death.
I just wish there were better photography of it to share with others... I was too busy fleeing/dragging the grad student I was with to safety to take pictures of the event I saw...
13
posted on
08/29/2023 7:27:53 PM PDT
by
verum ago
(I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
To: verum ago
Wow! I’d say you are lucky to be telling the tale!
14
posted on
08/29/2023 8:21:00 PM PDT
by
Beowulf9
To: nickcarraway
I’ve never even heard of St. Elmos fire before.
15
posted on
08/30/2023 12:41:26 AM PDT
by
MachIV
To: MachIV
It is often named but rarely seen
16
posted on
08/30/2023 12:53:59 AM PDT
by
steve86
(Numquam accusatus, numquam ad curiam ibit, numquam ad carcerem™)
To: nickcarraway
I’ve seen that before. I thought it was lightning.
17
posted on
08/30/2023 3:44:03 AM PDT
by
gitmo
(If your theology doesn’t become your biography, what good is it?)
To: TXBlair
Friggin’ song’s in my head now. Thanks a lot.
18
posted on
08/30/2023 3:47:23 AM PDT
by
Sirius Lee
(They intend to murder us. Prep if you want to live and live like you are prepping for eternal life)
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