The numbers get more astounding. Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is lightning capital of the world. Cloud columns during a storm have been estimated to reach 8-10km in height, producing perfect conditions for a spectacular lightning show. Over this bay off the Caribbean Sea in northwestern Venezuela, lightning storms take over the skies almost every night of the year. Then head over to Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, which has been crowned the lightning capital of the world. BOOM. In total, the lake receives 233 flashes per square kilometre per year, more than the Congo Basin receives in a year. There is a new global lightning hot spot. While the socialist democracy is usually wary of designations from the US government, they are embracing this one from NASA. That’s nearly two every day!!! The largest lake in South America, Lake Maracaibo sits along the northern Andes Mountains, where the mountains form a natural barrier, pushing air up and mixing it with warm, … The Catatumbo Lightning in Venezuela is magic! ... a mysterious region between Colombia and Venezuela containing the largest lake in Latin America that holds the Guinness World Record for lightning strikes. Counting lightning strikes from one thunderstorm… from one location… isn’t too challenging of a task. Let’s give all this acclaim some context. It’s called the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission satellite, and the device that actually does the counting is called the Lightning Imaging Sensor, or LIS. It’s 5,100 square miles in size. More than 15,000 wells have been drilled into the lake and, with many now abandoned and no maintenance on the old pipes, leaks are common. This weather phenomenon is known as Catatumbo Lightning, named for the river that flows into the lake. This cool airmass sinks under the warm & humid air that’s already there. Read RT Privacy policy to find out more. Here, nocturnal thunderstorms occur on average about 297 days per year and produce an average of about 232 lightning flashes / square kilometer / year. Some locals claim there are 200 lightning strikes a minute for hours at a time. © newsoftheuniverse. I do, too! But Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for “highest concentration of lightning” with 250 lightning flashes per square kilometre each year. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features. The secret to Catatumbo lightning lies in the unique topography of the land. https://www.rt.com/viral/343819-lightning-capital-world-venezuela Earth has a new lightning capital, scientists have announced. The skies above South America's largest water body … This study produced a list of the world’s top “Lightning Hot Spots”. Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo, pronounced [ˈlaɣo ðe maɾaˈkajβo] ()) is a large brackish tidal bay (or tidal estuary) in Venezuela and an "inlet of the Caribbean Sea". By tracking lightning around globe over 16 years, scientists have found that Lake Maracaibo in northwest Venezuela is the lightning capital of the world. Herein, what city has the most lightning strikes in the world? For every square kilometre of Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, researchers have found there are 233 bolts annually, with the total number climbing into the millions. Lake Maracaibo: an oil development sacrifice zone dying from neglect https://t.co/AZTeMoWf1X#pollutionpic.twitter.com/m9qTD1DP3e. You’ll also find a lot of warm and humid air over the Caribbean Sea. “Maracaibo’s Lighthouse” The village of Congo in Venezuela, which sits on the shore of Lake Maracaibo, is known by many names. Lake Maracaibo sits in the northwest part of Venezuela. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait, which is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) wide at the northern end. That means in an area one mile long by one mile wide (one square mile), this lake saw an average of more than 600 lightning strikes a year. The result:  THUNDERSTORMS! That would be quite hard! Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S., but Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is the lightning capital of the world, seeing lightning more than 200 days a year. However, the entire lake doesn’t get the peak number of strikes, so the more conservative (but still huge) estimate is 1.2 million lightning strikes. That’s because tall mountains nearly surround the lake to the east, south, and west. All rights reserved. This happens all around the world without much fanfare. Researchers from Brazil’s Universidade de São Paulo, NASA, and elsewhere poured through 16 years of Lake Maracaibo is a very large body of water. Lightning strikes over Lake Maracaibo in the village of Ologa, where the Catatumbo River feeds into the lake… More than 1,000,000 lightning strikes occur above the lake's waters … #lightning #luck #night #storm #venezuela #beach #thebest_sunset #skymasters_family #global_hotshotz #nature_brilliance #bestnatureshot #igs_europe #superhubs #main_vision #hot_shotz #jaw_dropping_shots #pro_ig_2016 #ig_europe #ic_landscape #ig_captures #landscape #thebest_capture #awesomeearth #natgeoadventure, A photo posted by Jonas Piontek (@j.piophotography) on Apr 8, 2016 at 9:13am PDT, Location:Ologa,Venezuela Photo by @j.piophotography Check other photos in #7maria777 Tag your friends #amazing #wonderful #beautiful #stunning #splendid #gorgeous #instanature #instapic #instalandscape #fantastic #nature #perfect #nice #naturelovers #landscape #world #spring #jungle #forest #Venezuela #thunderandlighting, A photo posted by MARYAM GALLERY (@maria_ph0t0) on Apr 26, 2016 at 11:47pm PDT. Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela is Lightning Capital of The World. The Andes Mountains surround Lake Maracaibo like a horseshoe from the … Lake Maracaibo is considered the "Lightning Capital of the World." There are 250 lightning bolts per square kilometre. We absolutely need to talk about why this one specific location receives more thunderstorm activity than any other place on the planet. Earth has a new lightning capital, according to a recent study using observations from the Lightning Imaging Sensor onboard NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission. “Lake Maracaibo has a unique geography and climatology that is ideal for the development of thunderstorms," Dennis Buechler, a researcher involved in the project from the University of Alabama told NASA. Who knew that Thor loves Venezuela! Lake Maracaibo: The world's top lightning hotspot is over Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela. Now let’s talk about the mountains. NASA did a study by looking at 16 years of data that was collected by the LIS. #venezuela #nasa #science #lightning #catatumbo #record #thebest_sunset #skymasters_family #global_hotshotz #nature_brilliance #bestnatureshot #igs_europe #superhubs #main_vision #hot_shotz #jaw_dropping_shots #kings_shots #ig_europe #ic_landscape #ig_captures #landscape #thebest_capture #awesomeearth #natgeoadventure, A photo posted by Jonas Piontek (@j.piophotography) on May 4, 2016 at 1:17am PDT. “Maracaibo’s Lighthouse” and “the Never-Ending Storm of Catatumbo” are both used to describe the area where lightning strikes over 300 days per year. Weather phenomenon is known as Catatumbo lightning lies in the Guinness Book of world Records having... 200 flashes per minute are not uncommon during one of their 297 nights of lightning per year, you love. Service has a new lightning capital of the world. 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