5. Tropical Cyclones: Blue Sparks in the Eye Wall
Particularly in their eye wall, tropical cyclones—including typhoons and hurricanes—are vast storm systems capable of creating amazing displays of blue lightning. Most strong winds and precipitation occur on the eye wall, the area of the storm encircling the still eye. It also is a centre of electrical activity. Strong updrafts produced as the warm, moist air rises quickly in the eye wall separate electrical charges. Frequent, strong lightning strikes follow from here; some of them seem blue. The top sections of the eye wall, where the air is cooler and drier, often show the blue hue more clearly. One way tropical cyclone researchers measure storm intensity is by lightning detection. Blue lightning in the eye wall can point to quite strong updrafts and a rather severe storm. Witnessing blue lightning in a tropical cyclone is a rare and breathtaking event for storm chasers and hurricane hunters that highlights the most extreme power of nature.