when it comes to the raw power of mother nature there isn't much that tops lightning strikes
lightning actually serves an incredibly important purpose in nature
our earth has a delicate electrical balance that needs to be kept in check
when lightning occurs it transfers negative charges back to earth without
thunderstorms and lightning the earth atmosphere electrical balance would disappear in minutes
and on top of that it actually produces ozone but as much as we want to appreciate the processes of
nature we also want to stay out of its way we all know the rules when lightning is around
don't go swimming stay away from tall structures but every once in a while a close call with
lightning can't be avoided no matter what you do from lightning striking a cruise ship to
ripping apart a tree here are five powerful lightning strikes that were caught on camera
in 2008 tropical storm vamay also known as typhoon vame struck the country of
malaysia this storm produced powerful winds and dumped large amounts of rain
during this time a group of friends decided it would be a good idea to go snorkeling as the
storm blew through it was a miracle that they didn't get swept out to sea by the currents
as the trio was walking back a blast of lightning shot from the sky and struck
only a few yards behind them the sound was deafening but thankfully the group was unharmed
with how close the strike was the group was very lucky a lightning strike can transfer
electricity through the ground electrocuting anyone and anything within a certain distance
but what about when lightning strikes a cruise ship let's take a look
one of the most relaxing things a person can do for a vacation is to go on a cruise ship
being out in the middle of the ocean on a floating island with everything you need at your fingertips
what could go wrong in august of 2017 a passenger aboard the msc preciosa was
docked in between destinations while waiting for the ship to pull off the passenger decided
to start recording a video docked just across from his boat was a quasi-de france cruise liner
as he recorded a bolt of lightning shot from out of the sky striking the french cruise
liner and causing a brief fire and large plume of black smoke luckily for everyone on board
the french vessel there were no injuries and the ship sustained only minor damage
one of the most incredible parts of the video occurred in the split second before
the lightning actually struck the ship as you can see the video quality starts to go a little south
unable to fully process the bright light coming into the camera's sensors
it took some time for the video to come out but when it did it amassed millions of views going
viral in a very short amount of time but even this clip isn't as incredible as this next one
sometimes when lightning strikes it can result in something truly explosive
such was the case in quebec canada at a hunting lodge
on this particular day hunters were forced indoors to wait out a storm overhead
oliver dorian an employee at the bryson lake lodge decided to begin filming the weather
little did he know he would catch one of the most dramatic lightning strikes ever seen on camera
about 10 seconds after the man entered his lodge and closed the door
a humongous bolt of lightning struck the tree splintering its bark into a million pieces
furthermore it split the tree causing the top half to fall onto the covered porch of the lodge
nearly collapsing the roof dorian and all of his co-workers shouted in excitement
knowing they had just captured the amazing strike on camera at the same time the
bewildered man stuck his head out of his door trying to make sense of what had just happened
this was once again an incredible example of good luck shining on everyone involved for one the
tree did not catch on fire nor did any structures surrounding it considering that lightning can be
hotter than the surface of the sun this is quite the miracle also if you watch closely when the
top half of the tree falls it knocks the roof of the porch out of position however it didn't fall
everybody involved got to walk away unharmed with some incredible footage on their hands
dash cams have become some of the most essential tools for preventing insurance fraud and proving
fault in accidents but they have also become some of the most useful tools in catching crazy things
on camera around december of 2014 in sydney australia that is exactly what happened as a
couple was traveling down the road on a very stormy day as they drove on and came up to a
slight bend in the road a bolt of lightning shot out of the sky striking a nearby tree
it was so powerful that the tree split in half with a top portion landing on the road
luckily there were no cars underneath the tree when it fell however it did land in
front of a car which because of the wet and rainy conditions was unable to stop in time
is
fortunately for everyone involved no one was hurt the tree did not land directly on any vehicles
the car that slid into the tree was not traveling very quickly so the impact was minimal finally
there was no one in the immediate vicinity to be electrocuted by the residual electricity in
the ground it was amazing considering it was so busy on the street that day
when looked at in slow motion lightning can actually reveal some amazing things not just
the way it seems to dance this was exactly what was captured on a man's ghost s hd camera that
was set up to capture lightning during a storm it was the perfect day as he was able to see
many impressive displays however it was one strike in particular that captured his attention the most
as his camera recorded a bolt of lightning struck a tree about 100 feet off of his back porch
it was a seemingly normal type of strike until he slowed it down by 10 times its normal speed
when he did he captured a phenomenon called ground up lightning as the particles of the
air are energized the electricity is generated the energy on the ground can build up to such
levels that the electricity seems to shoot up to meet the streak of lightning in the air that
is what we can see here just before the lightning strikes the tree in slow motion there seems to be
a bolt that comes from the top of the tree to join with a bolt traveling from the clouds this is only
possible with slow motion photography as at normal speed it is invisible it not only adds a level of
curiosity to lightning strikes it can also add an added element of danger or even terror lightning
is an example of something that can be incredibly beautiful and deadly at the same time no one knows
where lightning will strike as it has been known to strike up to 100 miles away from a storm when
skies are clear and the sun shines bright as with many of the various entries we can hope that luck
stays on our side to see more natural disasters caught on camera be sure to click the link on
screen now as always thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe for more content just like this
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