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Show PAGE 31 THE ZEPHYRJULY 1993 The temperature of a lightning flash has been reported as high as 55,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Air is heated along the path of the stroke, expanding at supersonic speed. This sudden, violent explosion of air molecules causes the thunderclap. The sound of thunder travels at 1100 feet per second or approximately one mile in five seconds. Yes, you can really count and estimate how far away the lightning strike was. Some other facts about lightning to dazzle your friends: There are 2000 thunderstorms in progress at any given moment on the planet. hour period. Lightning strikes the earth 812 million times in a twenty-fou- r 0 each United States. in the Tragically, lightning kills between people year of these deaths Twenty-five to percent lightning happen people standing beneath a tall tree thunderstorm. the during In 1856 lightning struck a supply of gunpowder beneath a church on the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean, killing 4000 villagers. (Why there was gunpowder stored under a church, 1001 Questions didn't say. And with the horror of Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidians still fresh in our minds, I just hope that there was a perfectly logical explanation.) -- It is believed that the airship llindenburg exploded into flames and killed 36 people in 1937 after electrical activity from a nearby thundercloud ignited leaking hydrogen. 504 sheep were killed by a single bolt on June 22, 1918 in Utah's own Wasatch National Forest. Lightning has killed 160 trees with a single strike. Lightning sets off more than 9000 fires per year in the western United States. --Twice as much lightning is generated in thunderstorms which produce hail as in those with only rain. minutes. During (me storm the Empire State Building was struck eight times in twenty-fou- r That pretty much wrecks the "Never strikes twice in the same place" theory. COLDUJGLU BANKjSR e, ARCHES REALTY -- 1120N.HWY 191 --- 130-50- OWNER MOTIVATED -- -- Reduced price for this thriving business in Moab! Very good growth possibilities, and year round employment. This nursery needs a friend who loves the outdoors, loves to see things grow (plants! flowers! trees! etc.). The possiblities are endless. Just to sweeten the pot, we will throw in an 1800 sq. foot home, all on 1.2 acres. $195,000 plus inventory. Please 92-11- -- --- -- 5 call for full details. AND ONE LAST STORY ABOUT LIGHTNING My late husband, Mark, and I used to live up on Wilson Mesa, directly beneath the western flanks of the La Sals. At 7200 feet, it was an awesome place to watch thunderstorms. The first cumulus puffs would appear over the Henry Mountains around 10 a.m. They would build d demons, and lightning bolts usually rapidly and dramatically into towering black blazed down somewhere around Dead Horse Point. Lots of times we'd set up the lawn diairs and sip lukewarm Hansen's sodas (no UP&L at the Yates' casa) to watch the approaching sound and light show. I remember an especially violent storm during one of die first years we lived on the mesa. Most of the time the brunt of activity passed to the south of us, but for some reason that summer pinyon-junipthe storms kept tracking directly across the ridge just above our house. We had a sheet metal roof on the cabin,and a metal stovepipe venting out through the middle of it, and it seemed to us we had made a pretty nice invitation for lightning to visit our living room. Our wonderful neighbor, Doug Hamilton, a professor of electronics at the University of Arizona, had once come over and explained in great detail how to ground the cabin using metal flashing and copper wires. We had all the materials in a neat little pile in the shed. This storm was loaded with fireworks. Torrential rain drove us inside the house as a continuous cadence of thunder echoed in Cougar Canyon nearby. It was loud. It was ear splitting. Suddenly a near simultaneous flash and explosion of thunder made sparks fly off the ride of our cast iron stove. Seeing as the farthest we could distance ourselves from the wood stove in our one room cabin was less than eight feet, we decided we'd best get out of there. So we took up posts underneath the veranda, wincing with each approaching lightning strike, and kicking ourselves for not grounding the cabin when we bought all the supplies two weeks earlier. And then a deafening crack and brilliance of light shattered the very air beside us. Ceez Louise that was close! Mark's and my eyes met in undisguised fear, each thinking the precise same thing We readied out our hands and clasped them tightly. If (me of us was going to get killed - then we both were. (As if we really have any control over these matters...) But that was the end of the point blank lightning strikes, and eventually the storm growled its way off Wilson Mesa to unleash its fury against the La Sals. We vowed to install the flashing and copper wires the next morning But of course we didn't Nor die next morning , either. It seemed there were always more pressing things to da We sat through a couple more thunderstorms beneath the veranda, holding on to each other, until we finally realized it would be a lot safer to just sit in the cab of our Dodge pickup to wait for the lightning to pass. We even kept a deck of cards in the glove compartment to help pass the time. And safer it certainly was, but, I have to admit... it was more fun the other way. Come see us anvil-heade- east-we- st Bus. (801) 259-593- 0 Fax (801) 259-593- 0 Toll Free (800) 842-662- 2 for all your real estate needs er -- ROAD KILL SPECIAL FOR JULY-No- tice that "Prairie RESTAURANT AND INN Pog Buildup on Open at 6 am the highway them days? Scrape a ftw up and bring 'am in1We'll cook 'em up special Just for you. (Jteaucfeans "dream cafe Bagel Bakery & Espresso 690 S. Main 259-BAK- E (in the Miller Shopping Center) 1075 S. Hwy.191 259-83- 52 Ron & Joyce Robertson, owners It's just me and the babes. STOP BY AMP MEET MARTY.. BEAUPEASPS TOKEN MALE. |