Weird Weather

Weird Weather

If you thought the weather was just sunshine and showers what do you make of balls of glowing light, showers of frogs, giant lumps of ice that fall from the heavens, ships floating in the sky, and many other weird sights? Weather can behave in very bizarre ways, and scientists have to scratch their heads when they try to explain some of these unusual phenomena.

Weird Lights

In June 1996 a sphere of light the size of a tennis ball flew into a printing factory in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. A dozen workers looked up in astonishment as the blue and white ball whizzed round inside, spinning along girders, hitting print machinery, sending sparks flying. Finally it hit a window and exploded with an orange flash and a tremendous bang, knocking out the telephone switchboard. "The whole place was lit up," said Simon Pocock, one of the staff. "The sparks were unbelievable - it was like a horror movie." Three people received electric shocks, one lady was hit in the shoulder.

Thousands of people all over the world have reported seeing mysterious glowing balls of light gliding inside their homes and even inside aircraft. They vary in size from a golfball to a football, in a variety of iridescent colours, with little noise, no smell and generally disappear by hitting television sets or other electrical fittings with a pop. In the most violent cases, glowing balls have exploded into flames and set houses ablaze. It's a phenomenon called "ball lightning". It usually come during thunderstorms, but no one knows what it is except that it's an electrical freak of nature. Ball lightning might even help explain "Foo Fighters". In World War II many pilots reported glowing balls of light flying alongside their aircraft. They thought it was some sort of secret enemy weapon, but German and Allied pilots both experienced the same phenomenon. To this day the lights remain a complete mystery.

We know that thunderstorms can put on some other very weird light displays. In olden days mariners often saw the tops of their ship masts glow as thunderstorms developed. They called it "St Elmo's fire", and its eerie light comes from the intense static electricity streaming up tall objects and discharging as a glowing corona. One of the most fantastic displays in recent times was in 1976 when many of the players at a school football match in Dover, England found their heads glowing and understandably abandoned their game! In itself St Elmo's isn't dangerous but it often appears just before a lightning strike, so if you do experience it, it might be wise to get out of the area as soon as possible.

Strange Showers