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Ball Lightning Answer
Tue Nov 02, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton, and this is The Weather Notebook. Today, we answer our
Brainstorm about ball lightning. Is it real?
MG: My name is Maria Girs. I think ball lightning is real. My mother talks about in the
1920s in Poland, it came in a door in the night. It sort of creeped up the walls over the
ceiling, back down the wall and it went out the window so I believe it’s a real
phenomenon.
GS: My name is Gary Sixt. I saw it once in 1955 during a late night thunderstorm in July.
It appeared as a round ball of whitish light about the size of a soccer ball parallel with
the road, veered into an open fjord and was gone in a clap of thunder and from what I
have heard, it is rare and it is thought to be a collective of electrons that form as a hot ball of gas.
ME: Midge Erskine, of Midland, Texas: When I was a young child in northwestern
Pennsylvania, I lived down on a farm; we had a ball of lightning that came down the
fireplace chimney and rolled out the door and left a mark on the floor when it rolled out
the door. It was a wooden floor.
AW: My name is Anita Windler. I live in Memphis, Tenn. As a child living in Oklahoma,
a fireball came through our living room from the front window right through the back. All
I can tell you is that there were three people sitting there and all three saw it.
So there is plenty of documentary evidence, and most scientists believe ball lightning
exists. But because of its nature, it is pretty hard to study. To see some theories, go to
our website, www.weathernotebook.org.
Our show is produced by the Mount Washington Observatory and funded by Subaru of
America.
Today's Links
Is Ball Lightning Real?
http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=000CC3F9-66E4-1C71-9EB 7809EC588F2D7&catID=3&t
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