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Subject: Neverending Storm
Replies: 13 Views: 425

shadow27 28.03.17 - 01:13am
Watching footage of Cyclone Debbie, I got to wondering if there could ever be a storm system that persisted for very long periods of time. How surprised was I when I read about this:

An everlasting storm known as Relmpago del Catatumbo appears in the exact same place and has been lighting the skies in South America constantly for thousands of years. * +

shadow27 28.03.17 - 01:17am
An article by science website Mother Nature Network explains the weather phenomenon is found above swamp ground in northwest Venezuela and averages 28 lightning strikes-per-minute for up to 10 hours at a time - something thats so bright it can be seen from over 400km away and is so dependable it has been used by sailors and fishermen as a lighthouse.
But more than helping to guide ships safely ashore the lighting has also played a major role in the countrys defence by helping to scupper would-be stealthy night time invasions. In 1595 the bright bolts revealed an invading fleet of ships from England, while in 1823 it exposed Spanish ships trying to slyly encroach during the Venezuelan War of Independence. * +

shadow27 28.03.17 - 01:21am
This natural wonder has been stirring up debate among scientists as to its constant appearance.
Situated where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo, which is surrounded by mountains, this forms a bowl-like shape perfect for trapping warm trade winds from the Caribbean Sea that clash into the cool air rolling down from the mountains and sent into the air to condense into thunderclouds.

The large lakes rapidly evaporating water in the intense Venezuelan heat provides a constant supply of updrafts, acting like a big thunderstorm machine.

However, some argue the large amounts of methane gas that bubble to the surface from the oil deposits deep below Lake Maracaibo are accountable for the omnipresent storms. This theory has yet to be proven but most experts believe there is not enough methane present to cause such storms. * +

shadow27 28.03.17 - 01:22am
Why has nobody tried to harness the energy produced there somehow? * +

jayna 28.03.17 - 01:39am
What color is this lightning you speak about. * +

3mel 28.03.17 - 01:40am
Jupiter has a fairly constant storm going on... bit far to travel though * +

shadow27 28.03.17 - 01:43am
There has been only a handful of times Relmpago del Catatumbo has ceased to strike. The most recent was back in 2010 when the lights went out for six weeks. Locals were mystified and slightly saddened by the absence. The cause for its disappearance was apparently El Nino - another weather phenomenon that affects global weather patterns and caused vast areas of South America, including Venezuela, to plunge into drought.
The weather wonder returned the same year and is continuing to flash away today. Its considered a national treasure and a campaign to make it a UNESCO World Heritage Site is being lobbied. * +

bambi99 28.03.17 - 02:14am
There is a theory that global warming could disrupt/ reate a thermal situation that would result in constant wind ...warm air rises cooler air rushes in ..seems inevitable really ,especially as the ice caps melt into the seas ....nature is unstoppable,no matter what you feed it ... * +

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