The biggest thunderstorms in the world and the record of Maracaibo

electric storm

An electrical storm is a meteorological phenomenon characterized mainly by lightning and lightning accompanied by its sound effects. They form in large clouds called cumulonimbus. Thunderstorms are often accompanied by strong winds, heavy rain, and also hail. Although it is not essential.

The world capital of lightning declared by NASA, is Maracaibo. If recently we wrote about what the region of the world where more waterspouts are registeredIt is also the place where more electrical storms are registered. In the town of Ologá, on Lake Maracaibo, it is one of the most unlikely places to have a quiet night. An average of 297 thunderstorms are unleashed annually.

The magnitude they reach

A whopping 1,6 million lightning strikes every year in total, on average. This Venezuelan region is also the place that dethroned the Congo River basin in Africa, like the place where the most lightning struck. Following a careful study by NASA scientist Richard Blakeslee. The study was published in the bulletin of the American Meteorological Association (AMS). And it is that this phenomenon is very popular in Venezuela, known as the lightning of Catatumbo.

If not, despite being called the Catatumbo lightning, It is an observable phenomenon throughout the Maracaibo Sea. After 17 years of gathering information and data thanks to the "Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission" satellite, which NASA put into orbit to measure the effect of tropical storms. Blakeslee also added, of the importance of understanding this phenomenon by the temperature that the water can reach and in relation to climate change.

So transcendent and unique is the Catatumbo lightning, that even It has been requested to be Intangible Cultural Heritage by Unesco. In this way this title would be carried, and the current Guinness World Record supporting.


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