Catatumbo Lightning

Catatumbo Lightning

They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice.

But, nature constantly proves that it is untrue. 

In Venezuela, at the mouth of the Catatumbo River where it meets the Lake Maracaibo, a unique and impressive natural phenomenon, variously known as the "Catatumbo lightning", the "Beacon of Maracaibo" or the “Everlasting Storm”, captures the eyes and attention of all observers there to witness it. Here, the night sky is regularly illuminated for nine hours at a time, with lightning striking the sky at the rate of about 28 strikes per minute.  

The Catatumbo lightning events are like no other phenomenon in the world. Even though previously the mountain village of Kifuka in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa was know to be the most electric place on Earth, with 158 lightning flashes per square kilometer each year, the Catatumbo lightning has surpassed this figure with 250 lightning flashes per square kilometer each year. The high strike rates of lightning over Lake Maracaibo earned it a position in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “highest recorded concentration of lightning". 

The exact reason for such high electrical activity in the region is not yet known. Several hypothesis have been put forward to explain the phenomena. In the 1960s, it was believed that the high volumes of uranium deposits in the bedrock of the region could attract lightning strikes to the lake. Another hypothesis was that methane released from the oil fields in the region could also be responsible for the Catatumbo lightnings. However, as of yet, in the absence of sufficient proof, it is though that a combination of various factors, including the land topography and wind patterns, could be responsible for the everlasting storm. Furthermore, it should be noted that this lightning is also unique in that it occurs in the ozone of the troposphere instead of from typical storm clouds.