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Thunderstruck

June 27th, 2005

I always thought that anything struck by lightning would be black and burnt.

Yesterday, I discovered that it doesn’t have to be. This tree was struck during last Friday night’s thunderstorm, and all that happened was a strip of bark coming off from where the tree was hit, all the way down to the ground.

from top to bottom

Here you can see the path the lightning took on its way to the ground.

where the tree got struck

This is where the lightning first hit the tree — maybe it’s my imagination, but I think I see a very slight blackening on the white wood.

damaged tree

A close-up of the damage, taken near the bottom of the tree.

One Response to “Thunderstruck”

  1. John says:

    The juices in the tree got the highest current and evaporated, and hence pushed the bark outside.

    Nice pictures.