What Does A Tree Struck By Lightning Look Like

When lightning strikes it turns the liquids inside the tree to gas instantly and the tree bark explodes.

When lightning hits a tree it steams water inside the tree busts bark from the trunk and branches and can even split a tree open in extreme cases. They are sometimes called lightning flowers or skin feathering but the medical terms are arborescent tree like erythema or keraunographic markings. As you can imagine a tree after being struck by lightning is left with a scar which shows the lightning strike. August 19 2011 at 1 33 pm i was standing maybe 20 feet away and indoors when a flash of lightning must have hit my tree.

Lightning usually runs along the inner bark of the tree down to the ground causing the outer bark to expand and blow away in strips. Some 50 of trees hit by lightning die immediately. Some of the others become weakened and susceptible to disease. This occurs when the trunk or several branches split off and fall to the ground due to vehement expansion.

Lightning or electrical current passes from the trunk of the tree through the roots and dissipates in the ground. Domart and garet nejm. Other damage can occur that may be less obvious. If the tree is in leaf the leaves wilt and the tree will probably die within a few days.

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The tree may also have charred areas on the trunk where the wood has burned from the heat of the strike. Major root damage from electricity may cause the tree to decline and die without significant aboveground damage. Some trees look absolutely normal following a lighting strike while others explode or burst into flames. Almost four in five trees struck by lightning.

If the lightning passes through the tree from the top down it travels through the trunk and into the roots before dissipating in the earth leaving no evidence of burns on the trunk or branches. A tree struck by lightning may behave in unpredictable ways. What does a tree struck by lightning look like. Lightening damage in trees is instantaneous.

What a lightning strike really looks like rob kornacki says. Not all trees have an equal chance of getting hit. They shrink and turn brittle then drop in a matter of days. The reason lightning strikes are often so brutal to trees is the resistance they offer to the flow of electricity as it passes through them.

Sometimes you ll find that a tree jumps when struck by lightning. When a tree is damaged by a lightning strike it can suffer damage that is visible and obvious ranging from the bark being blown off to fissures in the wood or broken limbs. Suddenly wilting leaves and twigs lose color and flexibility.