Quck answer
When lightning strikes a tree, it can cause significant damage and have various effects. The lightning can travel through the tree’s trunk, branches, or even its roots, causing the wood to heat up rapidly and potentially explode. This explosion can strip the bark, split the trunk, or shatter branches. The intense heat can also ignite a fire within the tree, leading to further damage. Additionally, the electrical charge from the lightning can travel through the tree’s conductive tissues, disrupting its internal systems and potentially killing it. In some cases, the tree may survive the strike but show signs of stress or decline in the following years.
Kaboom! Pow! Bam! No, those aren’t the captions of cartoon fistfights. They’re the sounds we frequently hear overhead from the clouds that come with thunderstorms.
Naturally, when you hear thunder, you search for . . . lightning! Maybe you even count the seconds between a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning. This can help you gauge how near or far the lightning is.
What precisely is lightning? Quite simply, it’s a brilliant flash of electricity. It can happen within a single cloud, between clouds, and between a cloud and the ground. The latter, often referred to as cloud-to-ground lightning, is what we commonly think of as a lightning bolt that we witness during a thunderstorm.
What causes cloud-to-ground lightning? Tiny ice particles collide within thunderclouds, causing an electric charge to accumulate. Objects on the ground, especially taller things like mountains, buildings, trees, and even people, can also accumulate an electric charge. When these charges meet, they connect. Electric current flows rapidly from the cloud to the ground. This results in a lightning strike.
Have you ever experienced static electricity? It has a similar cause. For example, walking across a carpet makes you accumulate electric charge. When you touch something metal, you may feel a shock! That’s static electricity moving between you and the object.
A flash of lightning is only a few inches wide. However, it appears much larger to the human eye. It can also be very dangerous—even lethal. There is a significant amount of electricity in a flash of lightning, and it’s also very hot. A single bolt can produce temperatures of about 54,000º F. That’s about six times hotter than the surface of the Sun!
So, what happens when that powerful bolt of lightning strikes an object on Earth? Specifically, what happens when lightning strikes a living tree? The type of tree, its overall health, and the amount of moisture it contains all influence how the tree is affected. Of course, the intensity of the lightning itself also plays a role.
A lot of the damage is a result of what occurs when the moisture inside a tree encounters the super-hot temperatures caused by lightning. A tree’s moist tissues often reside just beneath the outer layer of bark. This is why some lightning strikes cause the bark of a tree to appear as if it exploded in large pieces.
If the outer layer of bark is saturated from heavy rainfall, the lightning may travel along the outside of the tree to the ground. This leads to minimal damage. However, intense lightning bolts can sometimes split trees in two and cause them to ignite from the inside out.
A tree that has been struck by lightning can live for many years. Others may need to be cut down if they pose a risk of falling on people or property. Some large trees have been known to have been hit by lightning on multiple occasions.
If a tree struck by lightning doesn’t catch fire and burn completely, it may survive for quite some time with its injuries. Lightning-damaged trees, however, are often more vulnerable to damage from insects, disease, and decay.
Have you ever witnessed a tree that has been hit by lightning? How about other objects? Lightning is dangerous, but it is also a fascinating weather phenomenon! Now you will learn about the causes of these bright flashes of light during the next thunderstorm.
Give It a Try
Wow! Wasn’t today’s Wonder of the Day surprising? Find a friend or family member to assist you in exploring one or more of the following activities:
- Have you ever come across a tree that has been struck by lightning? A hike through a local forest will likely reveal more than one example of a lightning-struck tree. If you are unsure of what to look for, take a look at this photo gallery featuring trees struck by lightning. Do the trees appear as you expected? Why or why not? How can you identify a tree that has been hit by lightning? Discuss this with a friend or family member.
- Despite its destructive nature, lightning is undeniably one of nature’s most beautiful phenomena. Due to its unpredictable nature, capturing lightning strikes in photographs can be challenging. Many photographers, both amateur and professional, have dedicated a significant amount of time to capture incredible photos of lightning strikes. Visit The Photo Argus to see some of the best lightning photos we have found! What photography techniques produce the best lightning pictures? Which images are your favorites, and what do you like about them? Write a letter or email to a friend or family member sharing what you have learned and your thoughts on these photos.
- Can you recall the last major storm in your area? Was there a lot of lightning? How loud was the thunder? Did the storm cause any damage? Did anything get struck by lightning? Share your memories and thoughts about the storm with a friend or family member.
References
- https://agrilife.org/treecarekit/after-the-storm/understanding-lightning-associated-tree-damage/ (accessed 07 June 2021)
- https://gatrees.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Lightning-Struck-Trees.pdf (accessed 07 June 2021)
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