Catatumbo Lightning - The Most Amazing Lightning Show

Image Credit: Jonas Piontek

INTRODUCTION

Catatumbo lightning, also known as Relámpago del Catatumbo in Spanish, is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs in Venezuela over the area where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo.

Catatumbo lightning starts around an hour after sunset and ends in the morning. It occurs for over 160 nights a year lasting for ten hours each night and there can be 28 strikes per minute.

HISTORICAL REFERENCES

Catatumbo lightning is referred to as the “Lantern of Saint Anthony” or the “Lighthouse of Maracaibo” according to several ancient Portuguese and Spanish references. Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt has mentioned the Catatumbo lightning. Italian geographer Agustin Codazzi also described it in 1841.

SIGNIFICANCE

“A BEACON FOR SAILORS”

As the flashes of Catatumbo lightning were clearly visible from the Gulf of Venezuela and on clear nights, from the Caribbean, it served as a beacon or lighthouse for the sailors sailing at night.

"A KEY ROLE IN TWO BATTLES”

Relámpago del Catatumbo played a major role in the battle between Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish colonial city of Maracaibo. The flashes of lightning enabled the army in Maracaibo to spot the ships of Sir Francis Drake when he attempted a surprise attack on the city of Maracaibo at night. The incident is mentioned in the poem “La Dragontea” by Spanish poet Lope de Vega.

The flashes of Catatumbo lightning played a key role in the Venezuelan War of Independence also by revealing a Spanish fleet attempting to sneak ashore.

“DEPICTION IN THE FLAG OF ZULIA”

Image Credit: Wikipedia

The phenomenon of Catatumbo lightning is depicted on the flag of the state of Zulia and is also mentioned in the state’s anthem.

“THE BELIEF OF THE YUKPA PEOPLE”

The ancient Yukpa people believed the lightning was a result of fireflies meeting with ancestral spirits.

“THE BELIEF OF THE SPANISH PEOPLE”

The ancient Spanish people believed that these lightning strikes turned stones into gold and as a result of this belief, they began settling in the region.

WHAT CAUSES THE CATATUMBO LIGHTNING?

A combination of topography, wind and moisture forms the perfect conditions for Catatumbo lightning to occur every night.

An image of Lake Maracaibo and Catatumbo River on the map.

Image Credit: WorldAtlasLake

Maracaibo, where the lightning occurs, is surrounded on three sides by the Andes mountain. A narrow ribbon of wind called Maracaibo Basin Nocturnal Low-Level Jet(MBNLLJ) flows over the region at night. This low-level jet brings warm, moist air along with it from the Caribbean. The warm and moist air meets with the mountain and cold air coming from over the mountains. As the warm air has nowhere to escape because of the mountains, it rises up and forms clouds. In the clouds, water droplets and small ice particles called graupels constantly collide with each other and this collision results in the formation of static charges in the cloud. When the charge buildup is enough, a rapid discharge of electricity takes place in the form of lightning.

Catatumbo lightning is not much different from any other lightning as the basic principle of their formation and discharge of electricity is nearly the same. However, the majority of lightning events occur for a brief period of time but Catatumbo lightning occurs consistently for about more than 160 days a year.

There was a time when it was believed that Catatumbo lightning was a result of the evaporation of mineral oil from Lake Maracaibo. Uranium deposits in the bedrock were also thought to be a factor. However, there is no proof to support these two theories.

Another theory was proposed in an attempt to explain the cause of Catatumbo lightning. According to the theory, Catatumbo lightning was caused by methane present in the region. However, this theory does not provide a proper explanation of the formation of Catatumbo lightning as there are certain places in the world where methane concentrations are higher than the concentrations found in the region of Lake Maracaibo.

DISCONTINUATION OF THE CATATUMBO LIGHTNING The Catatumbo Lightning is present for over thousands of years now. However, there were two incidents when this amazing wonder of nature disappeared for some time. The first time it disappeared was in 1906 after an earthquake of 8.8 magnitudes hit the region and caused a tsunami. However, the lightning returned in just three weeks. The second time it disappeared was more recently in 2010 when Venezuela was plunged into drought. El Niño(a weather pattern) is said to be responsible for the disappearance.

REFERENCES:

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/the-maracaibo-beacon

https://stormhighway.com/catatumbo.php

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-catatumbo-widerimage-idUSKBN0IR1O620141107

https://explorersweb.com/natural-wonders-catatumbo-lightning/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/05/venezuela-lightning-el-nino

https://web.archive.org/web/20120129014235/http://blogs.ngm.com/blog_central/2010/02/lightning-up.html

http://www.fogonazos.es/2007/06/catatumbo-everlasting-storm.html

https://www.wondermondo.com/catatumbo-lightning/

https://abcnews.go.com/International/venezuelas-mysterious-catatumbo-lightning-phenomenon-vanishes-months-reappears/story?id=14120203#.UOYHp3e_E_w

http://www.fogonazos.es/2007/06/catatumbo-everlasting-storm.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catatumbo_lightning

https://www.ft.com/content/9eac29ec-d680-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e

https://nypost.com/2014/07/24/everlasting-storm-produces-thousands-of-lightning-strikes-a-year/

https://www.treehugger.com/everlasting-storm-has-million-lightning-strikes-a-year-4867547