What happens in Relámpago del Catatumbo?
The Relámpago del Catatumbo (relámpago means lightning, Catatumbo is a nearby river) is a lightning storm that rages most nights for eight months of every year, and has been flashing for thousands of years. As many as 40,000 lightning bolts illuminate the sky every night at a rate of 18 to 60 bolts per minute.
Why does Catatumbo Lightning happen?
It originates from a mass of storm clouds over nearby mountains, and occurs during 140 to 160 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour. It occurs over and around Lake Maracaibo, typically over the bog area formed where the Catatumbo River flows into the lake.
What causes the everlasting storm?
Known as Relámpago del Catatumbo, the storm is located where the Catatumbo River flows into Lake Maracaibo. Warm air from the Caribbean meets the cold air from the mountains, creating the perfect conditions for lightning. This everlasting lightning storm may be the world’s largest generator of ozone.
How long does the Catatumbo Lightning last?
Here, where the Catatumbo River empties into South America’s largest lake, an “everlasting lightning storm” rages continuously for up to 10 hours a night, in exactly the same place, 260 nights a year. Nowhere else on Earth is so much lightning concentrated in one spot, with such regularity.
Does anyone live in Catatumbo?
Today, the lake supports 20,000 fishermen, and many live in palafitos, one-room, tin shacks. “These people, the forgotten people, are frequently getting struck by lightning,” Muñoz said. Catatumbo Lightning strikes people three to four times more here than in the United States.
Is the Catatumbo storm real?
What is Catatumbo Lightning? Catatumbo Lightning doesn’t actually fire nonstop, but for at least a few centuries, it has occurred around 150 times per year in Venezuela. These lightning storms can last as long as 9 hours per day, with as many as 28 lightning strikes per minute.