homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

News


Subscriber content preview

April 3, 2009

Strange But True!

Q. What's the lightning-season lesson to be learned from “The Shocking Death of Old Pitt”?

A. Few people realize that lightning also inflicts countless deadly hits on other species, says climatologist Randy Cerveny in “Freaks of the Storm.” Strikes to lakes have been known to electrify the water and kill wagonloads of fish for the locals. In 1939, a single strike at the top of Utah's Pine Canyon killed 835 rain-soaked sheep that had bedded down around a lone tree. Only 15 of the flock survived, as did the sheepherder who slept in his tent. When a large turkey-buzzard, sky-high over Nashville, Tenn., exploded in a blinding flash of lightning, it left just “a few black tail feathers that fluttered pathetically to the ground.”


 
. . .


To read this story in full login or purchase a subscription.



Previous columns:



Email or user name:
Password:
 
Forgot password? Click here.