Harrowsmith – September 2019

Harrowsmith Fall 2019 | 129

WET COWS, COLD

CATERPILLARS AND

ACHY JOINTS

Debunking some of the most famous

weather myths.

BY MARK SIROIS

MYTH 1:

Lightning never hits the

same place twice.

This is false. If lightning hits

one spot, that location is as

vulnerable as any other spot

once the storm recharges. Tall

television/communication

towers and large skyscrapers

are the most likely places where

lightning strikes repeatedly.

These objects often experience

a direct strike as frequently as

every 30 seconds during more

intense thunderstorms. If you

want to get great lightning-

strike pictures, those towers

or skyscrapers that reach or

exceed the 300-metre mark are

essentially guaranteed to take

at least one direct hit during

every thunderstorm that passes

through the area.

W E AT H E R

B

efore the days of weather models and real-time

radar, people looked for other ways to try to predict

and understand the weather. Unfortunately, most

weather lore is incorrect and could be life threatening if

believed. Here, we’ll set the record straight and show how

science proves the following nine myths wrong.