Lightning FAQ: What are the glassy formations resulting from lightning striking sandy soil?

By DAN ROBINSON Storm Chaser/Photographer Tweet

When lightning strikes the ground where the soil is sandy in nature, the intense heat from the lightning channel fuses the soil into hollow, glassy, brittle formations that are shaped like the lightning channel that formed it. These formations are called fulgurites. Mineralogical Research Co. has pictures of fulgurites for sale.

The photo above shows one of two 2 1/2" long fulgurites that I bought from Mineralogical Research. These were formed by lightning strikes on the Pecos Plains in western Texas.

GO: Home | Storm Chasing | Photography | Extreme Weather Library | Stock Footage | Blog

Christianity & Faith >> Extreme Weather Library >> Storm Chasing Logs and Photos >> St. Louis Photography >> Dan's TV & Media Credits >>

Recent Posts Centralization Epilogue June 12-13 logs Trip 2 prelim recap Forecast update 11 Forecast update 10 May 20-29 roundup Forecast update 9 Idiot chaser how-to Trip #1 recap Day 1: TX tornado Forecast update 8 Forecast update 7 Forecast update 6 Political compatibilities Storm Chaser Traffic Forecast update 5 Forecast update 4 Forecast update 3 4/10 IL chase Forecast update 2 4/5 IL chase Quick Links - Weather Library - Storm Chasing - Photography - Blog Home - Google+ - Blog Post Archives - Christianity & Faith - St. Louis Photo Gallery - Footage Archive - DashCam videos - Storm Chaser Traffic - Home Business Pages St. Louis Photography Stock Photography Private chase tours Van De Graaff Generators Weather Stock Footage Television ENG Editorial Pages Clients & Credits Icy Road Safety Personal Pages The Message Extreme Weather Gallery Storm Chasing Dan's Blog Photography Weather Data Dan's Links Contact Information / Email / Phone Home Feeds: Dan's FeedRoom Twitter Page

Featured Weather Library Article:

Lightning and trees Trees are nature's lightning rod - take a closer look here.
More Library Articles