THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010596
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 49 lines
Striking with hair-raising ferocity, recent lightning storms have put on a spectacular - but mostly benign - display.
The storm Tuesday night, which passed over Nags Head about 8 p.m., caused power outages at about 7,000 residences. But for all its dazzle and dance, the lightning struck no people and caused no fires, emergency officials reported Wednesday.
``We were lucky,'' said Douglas Remaley, Dare County fire marshal.
Illuminating an inky green sky with tremendous bolts, arcing one after another, the storm was fast-moving and fairly powerful, a meteorologist said.
``The storms were very alive - they were pulsing on radar,'' said Richard Thacker, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service station in Newport. ``It basically just rolled on through.''
Thacker said that when the strongest storm passed over Nags Head, it was traveling about 40 mph. Because an average thunderstorm moves about 10-15 mph, Thacker said, the speed may explain the fury of the flashes.
``It could be that the friction or the motion of the storm helped enhance the lightning,'' he said.
The weather service estimated that there were about 30 cloud-to-ground strikes, when lightning is most threatening, every five minutes.
In an average storm, Thacker said, you could expect to see 10 cloud-to-ground strikes every five minutes. In a severe storm, you could see 100 such strikes every five minutes.
Claude Wells, director of public services for N.C. Power in Manteo, said several strikes hit their substation in Nags Head at 8:15 p.m.
Three separate circuits were disabled by the protective equipment on the transformers, similar to an electrical breaker, and power was interrupted in parts of Nags Head, Roanoke Island and along state Route 12 south to Oregon Inlet. Power was restored by 8:47 p.m., Wells said.
``The damage was really minimal,'' said Thacker. ``It was only 6 to 8 miles in diameter, and it certainly didn't last too long.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
STREAKING SKIES OVER OUTER BANKS
DREW C. WILSON
The Virginian-Pilot
Lightning brightens the sky over Kill Devil Hills Tuesday night as a
thunderstorm crossed over the Outer Banks. There were power outages
but no fires or injuries were reported. ``We were lucky,'' said
Douglas Remaley, Dare County fire marshall. by CNB