Weather Phenomena Spinner Wheel

Ball lightning is a reported phenomenon of luminous, spherical, plasma-like objects (typically 10–50 cm in diameter) that appear during or after thunderstorms, move through the air, reportedly pass through glass windows, and vanish silently or with an explosion. Despite centuries of reports across every culture, no scientifically verified video evidence exists and it has never been reproduced in a laboratory. A 2012 Russian study captured a spectrum matching soil elements (silicon, iron, calcium), suggesting it may involve vaporized earth material ignited by lightning, but the phenomenon remains officially unexplained.

A lightning bolt reaches approximately 30,000 Kelvin (about 54,000°F) — roughly five times hotter than the surface of the Sun (around 5,778 Kelvin). Despite this extreme temperature, a bolt carries only about 5 billion joules of energy — equivalent to a few hundred watt-hours — because the duration is so brief (microseconds). Earth receives about 8 million lightning strikes per day, approximately 100 per second globally.

A rainbow forms when sunlight enters water droplets, reflects once inside, and exits at a precise 42° angle (for the primary rainbow). This geometry creates a full circular arc centered exactly on the antisolar point — the shadow of your own head. From the ground, the horizon blocks the lower half, so you only see a semicircle. From an airplane above clouds with rain below, you can sometimes see the complete 360° ring. Secondary rainbows (outside the primary) form with two internal reflections and have reversed colors.

The Green Flash is a rare optical phenomenon lasting only 1–2 seconds at sunset or sunrise. As the sun dips below the horizon, atmospheric refraction bends different wavelengths of light differently — green light bends more than red, so it remains visible for a brief moment after the sun disappears. Conditions require clear air, an unobstructed horizon (ocean is ideal), and no dust or haze. Superior mirages under certain temperature inversions can extend the effect to a 10-second 'green ray' shooting upward. Jules Verne immortalized it in his 1882 novel 'The Green Ray.'

Thundersnow is lightning and thunder occurring within a snowstorm. It's extremely rare because thunderstorms require strong atmospheric instability (rapid temperature drop with altitude) that winter's cold usually prevents. When it does occur, the snow absorbs thunder's acoustic energy, reducing its typically 20-km audible range to just 2–3 km, creating an eerily muffled atmosphere. Thundersnow often produces the heaviest snowfall rates of any storm type — commonly 5–10 cm per hour — making the brief, dramatic lightning seem paradoxical amid deep winter conditions.

Fire whirls (also called fire tornadoes or firenados) form when the intense heat of a wildfire interacts with turbulent wind patterns, creating rotating columns of fire. The center can reach 1,000°C (1,800°F) with wind speeds exceeding 160 km/h. The most catastrophic known example occurred during the firebombing of Hamburg (July 1943), which created a self-sustaining fire whirl 4 km high that burned for 3 hours and generated inward winds powerful enough to pull people from blocks away. The 2018 Carr Fire in California produced a fire whirl officially rated EF3 — the first fire tornado to receive an official tornado intensity classification.