WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Catatumbo Lightning

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and there's Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's Jerry, and Dave's not here, but that's okay

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<v Speaker 1>because this is short stuff and that's just how we

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<v Speaker 1>do it. And Chuck, I'm excited about this one because

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<v Speaker 1>I had no idea about this, had never heard of it,

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<v Speaker 1>and you totally scored with this one. So yeah, it

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't too long ago. It was when the last six

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<v Speaker 1>months or so I became aware of the Catatumbo lightning.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I was just looking through like weather phenomenon

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<v Speaker 1>because that's always interesting. Um want to shout out Explorers

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<v Speaker 1>web dot com, uh, Science, ABC dot com, NASA dot gov,

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<v Speaker 1>along with some other websites because there's plenty of websites

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<v Speaker 1>talking about the cat Zumbo lightning. Yeah, I want to

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<v Speaker 1>shout out Atlas Obscura, who I saw a pretty neat

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<v Speaker 1>little two minute video to learn some extra stuff too.

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<v Speaker 1>So catet Tumbo lightning is this very specific, very isolated

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<v Speaker 1>phenomenon that takes place in one specific spot in Venezuela

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<v Speaker 1>on a very giant lake lake. I'm gonna say, Marisaibo, Maricibo, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you think I was gonna say Maracaibo, but

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if that's a hard seer or so

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<v Speaker 1>let's go with Maracaibo. Mine was way too fancy. One

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<v Speaker 1>specific part of this lake even it's that like localized, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and so you'd think, like, okay, big what, there's some

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<v Speaker 1>lightning that happens this one specific part of this lake.

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<v Speaker 1>And you would be right if it weren't for the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that these lightning storms take place at roughly the

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<v Speaker 1>same time every day, about three hundred days out of

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<v Speaker 1>the year. That's right, And you're saying, okay, who cares, still,

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<v Speaker 1>big whoop, you've got some lightning. It is lightning such that, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you are getting a possible lightning strike maybe every two

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<v Speaker 1>seconds during this time frame, such that it almost provides

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<v Speaker 1>a near constant night sky light. It's that constant. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>the other thing too about it that just makes this

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most amazing weather phenomenon around. It takes

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<v Speaker 1>place over like nine hours, so every night, almost three

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<v Speaker 1>nights a year, this lightning strikes about twenty eight times

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<v Speaker 1>per minute over this one localized area for nine hours.

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<v Speaker 1>It's amazing. That's remarkable. And like you said, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>it lights up enough stuff that you can see everything.

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<v Speaker 1>And there was actually a very famous raid from that.

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<v Speaker 1>Francis Drake was carrying out or about to carry out,

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<v Speaker 1>on the city of Maracaibo on the shore of Lake

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<v Speaker 1>Maracaibo appropriately, and he was found out because that lightning storm.

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<v Speaker 1>He was seen before he could attack, and they managed

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<v Speaker 1>to repel the attack. That's amazing. It's also known as

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<v Speaker 1>the Beacon of Maracaibo because it had served as a

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<v Speaker 1>beacon for sailors over over time. It's one of the

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<v Speaker 1>oldest lakes on Earth, dating back to thirty six millillion years,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was a big shipping route. If you were

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<v Speaker 1>going to the port of Kabimus and Maracaibo, you would

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<v Speaker 1>go through there and navigators would count on this lightning

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<v Speaker 1>as a beacon. It's sort of like having a lighthouse

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<v Speaker 1>around at all times in a way, except a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more dangerous because this stuff. I mean, if you're thinking, like,

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<v Speaker 1>do people get struck by lightning more there and killed more,

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<v Speaker 1>the answer for sure as yes. Yeah. NASA calls it

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<v Speaker 1>the lightning hot spot of the World, which apparently in

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<v Speaker 1>the Democratic Republic of Congo there that used to be

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<v Speaker 1>the lightning hot spot. But I'm not sure how you

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<v Speaker 1>ever would have thought to have beaten the Catatumbo lightning.

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, now it's now, it's official Catatumbo lightning. It's

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<v Speaker 1>it's it. If you're talking about um. The indigenous people,

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<v Speaker 1>the warr w a r I, they believed that it

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<v Speaker 1>might have been the work of uh fireflies paying tribute

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<v Speaker 1>to their creator God, which that was wrong, wrong, wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>it was wrong. But it's always it's always fun to

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<v Speaker 1>hear those uh what the early folks thought about things. Sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but instead we now know exactly what's going on thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to some friends at noah UM. And I think we

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<v Speaker 1>should take a break and we'll come back and explain

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<v Speaker 1>how this works. What do you think, let's do it? Okay, Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>So the reason why this phenomena is so isolated and

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<v Speaker 1>also so reliable. It starts about after dusk and again

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<v Speaker 1>it lasts for about nine hours is because of the

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<v Speaker 1>geography of Lake Maracaibo and where it is. Apparently it's

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<v Speaker 1>right about at the mouth of um the Caribbean. The

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<v Speaker 1>Caribbean is very nearby, so there's a big, steady supply

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<v Speaker 1>of warm water that keeps the lake warm. Okay. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>And as we talked about in our wind episode, wind

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<v Speaker 1>is created when warm air rises and cooler air flows

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<v Speaker 1>in to kind of fill its spot and even things out.

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<v Speaker 1>But one of the other consequences of warm air rising,

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<v Speaker 1>especially warm air in the tropics that's impregnated with um

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<v Speaker 1>humid Caribbean air or yeah, human Caribbean air. As it

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<v Speaker 1>floats up, it starts to come in contact with colder

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<v Speaker 1>air that often contains colder ice particles. And when that

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<v Speaker 1>warm water vapor and those cold ice particles collide, they

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<v Speaker 1>actually generate static electricity. And it's on a minuscule, minuscule

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<v Speaker 1>level for each of these collisions, but if there's enough

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<v Speaker 1>of them, and in this area there's plenty, uh, all

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<v Speaker 1>of that stuff can create lightning, and it can create

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<v Speaker 1>it in aces. And then the case of Lake Maracaibo,

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on as you have these uh it's sort

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<v Speaker 1>of surrounded on three sides by these mountain ridges. So

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<v Speaker 1>what that leaves is as a really narrow little pathway

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<v Speaker 1>uh to the Gulf of Venezuela, where that Caribbean sea

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<v Speaker 1>water is just constantly bringing in warm water through that

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<v Speaker 1>little channel. And then you've got also you know, you've

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<v Speaker 1>got you're in the tropics there, so you've got the

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<v Speaker 1>sun that's also pulling moisture from the lake, and then

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<v Speaker 1>you've got these winds. And I think they found uh,

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<v Speaker 1>there's this researcher, Uh what's anhel Munio's right, and Unheld

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<v Speaker 1>did a bunch of research on this, basically trying to

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<v Speaker 1>predict a model, like coming up with a model to

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<v Speaker 1>predict conditions that might lead to occurrence of lightning and

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<v Speaker 1>not not just here but period and then applying it

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<v Speaker 1>here to see like what the deal was. Yeah, because

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<v Speaker 1>they used to suggest that it was um uranium deposits

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe methane deposits beneath the lake that we're somehow

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<v Speaker 1>electrostatically charging the air above it. But I guess they've

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<v Speaker 1>never found uranium or methane deposits to support that, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's not even clear whether that could happen. So on

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<v Speaker 1>helm Unions said, I think I've got this figured out.

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<v Speaker 1>He managed to trace and track um the wind that's

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<v Speaker 1>generated every night, and it's so reliable it has its

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<v Speaker 1>own name. He calls it the Maracabo Basin nocturnal low

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<v Speaker 1>level jet. Needs to work on that name a little bit, sure,

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<v Speaker 1>it should at least be an acronym yeah, I was

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<v Speaker 1>gonna say it's not even the n B N L

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<v Speaker 1>l J. So because of the geography and the topography,

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<v Speaker 1>that wind comes in every night and it's funneled through

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<v Speaker 1>that little narrow mouth that you were talking about. But

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<v Speaker 1>as it pushes along inward land word um, it eventually

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<v Speaker 1>runs into those mountains that ring the lake itself, right

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<v Speaker 1>And when that happens, it goes up and it's pushing

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<v Speaker 1>all of that warm air right up into that colder air.

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<v Speaker 1>And this wind, this jet picks up about the same

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<v Speaker 1>time every day around dusk. So there's your wind right there,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you've got the hot water or the hot

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<v Speaker 1>warm air that's full of water being pushed up into

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<v Speaker 1>the colder air. Yeah, and it's it's kind of interesting.

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<v Speaker 1>So you have this air that sort of has a

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<v Speaker 1>title motion going as well, So this air is flowing

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<v Speaker 1>in and then receding again. And just the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's happening at about the same time every day

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<v Speaker 1>because of the way that everything just happened does be

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<v Speaker 1>laid out and sit in just the right way to

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<v Speaker 1>make this happen at the same time every day. Uh, well,

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<v Speaker 1>not every day, but what is it two three hundred

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<v Speaker 1>days a year, three hundred days a year, and there

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<v Speaker 1>was a period in two thousand ten where it went

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<v Speaker 1>six weeks without it and that was a huge deal

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<v Speaker 1>because it doesn't usually do that, and they figured out

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<v Speaker 1>there's because of El Nino bringing very dry wind in. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and to be clear, these are storms. It's not like

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<v Speaker 1>you just sit back and watch the light show and

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<v Speaker 1>it's just like this warm summer heat lightning or something like.

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<v Speaker 1>Oftentimes it's a company by really strong surface winds, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's I don't know what it's like to live there.

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<v Speaker 1>I think about what about a quarter of the population

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<v Speaker 1>of Venezuela lives sort of nearby. Yeah, so it's it's

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people. Yeah, I mean that's just every

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<v Speaker 1>single day. I guess they just count on these big,

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<v Speaker 1>big storms coming in. Yeah. So they've got the lightning show,

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<v Speaker 1>the Catatumbo lightning three hundred nights a year, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>stormy about a hundred and sixty nights a year. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a ton So what's happening when it's not stormy but

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<v Speaker 1>you're getting the lightning? They're probably Oh so I saw

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<v Speaker 1>on the Atlas Obscure video that sometimes it's it can

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<v Speaker 1>be like hundreds a hundred kilometers in the sky, so

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<v Speaker 1>you can get that light show, but it's literally quiet.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's pretty cool too. Yeah, those are the money

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<v Speaker 1>nights to be there, I guess for sure. Yeah. And

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<v Speaker 1>I saw one other thing that I not only saw

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<v Speaker 1>this here, I didn't realize it, but I had some

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<v Speaker 1>bottom mine haff stuff going on, because there's this website

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<v Speaker 1>called Futility Closet that is just an amazing website. So

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<v Speaker 1>I saw that. I saw this fact in this article,

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<v Speaker 1>and then last night I was on Futility Closet and

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<v Speaker 1>I saw the same fact. So it has to that

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<v Speaker 1>means it's worth sharing, don't you think. Let's hear it. Venezuela.

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<v Speaker 1>Supposedly it was named by Amerigo Vespucci, who named it

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<v Speaker 1>Venezuela because when he got to the Lake Maracaibo region,

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<v Speaker 1>he saw people living in huts on stilts and it

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<v Speaker 1>reminded him of people living in in houses on stilts

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<v Speaker 1>in Venice. So Venice apparently means little or Venezuela apparently

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<v Speaker 1>means little venice. That's amazing. I thought so too. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's so cool. What else you got? I've got

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<v Speaker 1>nothing else? Well, I'm glad we explained it. I love

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<v Speaker 1>ones that are like this is amazing and here's exactly

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<v Speaker 1>how it works. So thank you very much. On helm

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<v Speaker 1>UNO's thanks that was obscure, NASA Science, ABC Explorer, Web

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<v Speaker 1>and Futility Closet. I love it. Short Stuff is out everybody,

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