© Caleb Ayers/Register & BeeAfter a microburst downed trees and power lines in a four-block section of the Westover area on Thursday afternoon, contractors and workers from Danville Utilities worked to fix poles and remove trees throughout the evening Thursday and during the day Friday.
They jumped up and raced to their basement. They didn't hear the tree slam into the corner of their roof or any of the other huge trees cracking as they plummeted to the ground.
"We were just afraid and ran so fast we didn't really have time to hear anything," Julie said.
It was all over in a matter of about 30 seconds: a microburst — a weather phenomenon that causes straight-line winds between 70 and 90 mph — nailed a roughly four-block area in the Westover neighborhood of the city Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service reported. The microburst uprooted and felled massive trees, caused property damage to houses and vehicles, and caused multiple power outages, some lasting into Friday for many in the affected region.
Comment: Earlier this month rare lightning strikes were detected near the North Pole. A couple of weeks ago record lightning strikes were reported in Iceland.
In March this year an anomalous lightning storm hit Southern California producing more than 1,200 bursts in five minutes. In December 2018 the sky over New York City lit up with mysterious blue light.
Could the base level electric charge in the atmosphere be changing? See also:
- Changing atmosphere: Red sprites and a blue jet seen above Europe's stormy skies
- Electric universe: Lightning strength and frequency increasing
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