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A power flash is a flash of light caused by arcing electrical discharges from damaged electrical equipment, most often severed or arcing
Power Flashes in a Giant Tornado
Lightning dictionary
Tornado Electric arcs Electrical phenomena Weather hazards {{weather-stub
A power flash is a flash of light caused by arcing electrical discharges from damaged electrical equipment, most often severed or arcing power line
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and Electric power distribution, distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more electrical conductor, conductors (commonly mu ...
s. They are often caused by strong winds, especially those from tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
s and tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
es, and occasionally by intense downburst
In meteorology, a downburst is a strong downward and outward gushing wind system that emanates from a point source above and blows radially, that is, in straight lines in all directions from the area of impact at surface level. It originate ...
s and derecho
A ''derecho'' (, from , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of Severe weather#Categories, severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system.
Derechos cause Bea ...
es. Storm spotters and meteorologists use these flashes to spot tornadoes which would otherwise be invisible due to rain or darkness. They can be distinguished from lightning
Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
by the fact that they originate at ground level, the blue or green color of the flash, and depending on distance, the sound of high-voltage lines shorting out. Power flashes can cause power outages.
See also
*Electric discharge
In electromagnetism, an electric discharge is the release and transmission of electricity in an applied electric field through a medium such as a gas (i.e., an outgoing flow of electric current through a non-metal medium).American Geophysical U ...
* Electric arc
An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma ( ...
References
External links
Power Flashes in a Giant Tornado
Lightning dictionary
Tornado Electric arcs Electrical phenomena Weather hazards {{weather-stub