Congratulations, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. You are now the new Lightning Capital of Earth.
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 in Venezuela earned the top spot receiving an average rate of about 233 flashes per square kilometer per year, according to the study. Researchers had previously identified Africa's Congo Basin as the location of maximum lightning activity
But First, A Word From Our Sponsor:
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board.
Make sure that you include the direct link to the comment (the URL), which is available by clicking on that comment's date/time. Please let us know your Daily Kos user name if you use email so we can credit you properly. If you send a writeup with the link, we can include that as well. The diarist poster reserves the right to edit all content. Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home!
I’m not so sure I’d like to go to a place that has an AVERAGE of 233 lightning flashes per km per year. Bad enough when it storms around here. However, it seems that the place is ideal for lightning.
“Lake Maracaibo has a unique geography and climatology that is ideal for the development of thunderstorms," said Dennis Buechler with the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Buechler noted that Lake Maracaibo is not new to lightning researchers. Located in northwest Venezuela along part of the Andes Mountains, it is the largest lake in South America. Storms commonly form there at night as mountain breezes develop and converge over the warm, moist air over the lake. These unique conditions contribute to the development of persistent deep convection resulting in an average of 297 nocturnal thunderstorms per year, peaking in September.
Considering the havoc that rampant climate change is wreaking on the planet, I hope the numbers don’t get worse. Sounds like more than enough lightning visits this place already. I’m sure that storm and lightning researchers are going to have a field day there.
Now, for what you really came for: Top Comments, Top Mojo, and Jotters’ Amazing Picture Quilt.
TOP COMMENTS May 7, 2016
Thanks to tonight's Top Comments contributors! Let us hear from YOU when you find that proficient comment.
Please be aware that I format comments to open in the same window so you won’t have new pages or tabs popping up.
Submitted by ZenTrainer and IndieGuy:
When a comment is submitted by 2 people, you know that it’s something you don’t want to miss. This comment by Ammo Hauler doesn’t disappoint. From Flight delayed 2 hours because passenger thinks dark-haired male professor doing math is a terrorist by progressive2016. Don’t miss this winning comment.
From 2thanks:
peregrine kate offers support to diarist troubled by institutional racism. From With My Head in Lion's Mouth by PurposelyPolemical.
TOP MOJO from May 6, 2016
(excluding Tip Jars and first comments) *Got mik!*
How incredible is this? For an explanation of How Top Mojo Works, see mik's FAQing Top Mojo
TOP PHOTOS May 6, 2016
Enjoy jotter's wonderful *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. Have fun, Kossacks!
Thank you jotter for the awesome image magic!
OMG — not a single problem with the quilt tonight. Yippee! However, I want more pooties!!!!