Member-only story
My Fascination with Thunder and Lightning
Storm chasing from my reading chair
It must be storming again.
The shifting of the solstice was messing with my circadian rhythms; I had no idea what time it was.
That might have been thunder that woke me.
Moments later, I caught the movement of light through the blinds; it was too flighty for a car in the drive. I got out of bed and put the coffee on.
In my study I shifted my reading chair — I really must get one that’s easier to move — then shifted it again, and again, and again, as the lightning flashed and the blasted walls hid the fantastic from view.
Then I realized the magic was all around me.
To the northeast, the center of the storm released a bolt of lightning resembling the symbol on battery boxes, its thunder a startling smack — sharp and loud.
Its path was nearly vertical, its release of electricity traveling from sky to earth so quickly that my eye could only catch the earth’s response — a stream of positive energy traveling up to meet it. Another of nature’s optical illusions.
From the south, there came a fork of lightning, one tine traveling toward the ground, the other to the cloud beside it. I counted until I heard its thunder…
