When chasing, how often do you see explosions?

[Susan Strom]

Out here in the Arizona Desert it seems like when the weather gets wild, a good number of things start blowing up...explosions & power flashes are plentiful.

Lastnight was pretty typical. Around 9:30pm while driving east, I saw a series of explosions in some open land in Scottsdale. First there was a green transformer that blew up (pretty huge with sparks), then a series of bright white explosions popped on the horizon...as if a chain reaction to the green explosion (a guess). Oddly, lightning was minimal at the time, but the rain was extremely heavy/flooding and winds were strong. Yesterday during the day, lightning was everywhere so I can't rule out lightning effects too. We had a huge storm come through all day and evening.

During Monsoon from July-Sept in the Southwest, when I'm on mountains I see green and red explosions if I'm shooting near cities. Transformers pop for sure with all the lightning around. I'd imagine the green comes from copper. I'm not sure what the red bursts are, maybe something iron-related in some material. There are plenty of bright white ones too.

One night near Sublette, Kansas I was trying to get some big CGs around 1am, and the powerlines were arcing with green sparks coming out. They made a heck of a noise.

When the weather gets wild for you, what kind of things do you see blowing up, and when? Have you ever been too close? (I was once, had a transformer blow at close range, was startled but unharmed.)

Great balls of fire.

 

[Gaetan Cormier]

Hi Susan!

Just last year on August 1st we had a really impressive HP Supercell that was dropping an incredible amount of lightning. We were chasing that night and we parked at a garage station. Two minutes later lightning hitted a transformer that exploded no more than 130 feet from us! Sparks were everywhere but I must admit that it was scary when that thhing exploded, I wasn't expecting that!

Cheers!

 

[Dan Robinson]

When we were chasing the ice storm in St. Louis last year, the number and frequency of power flashes was surreal. One of them went off right next to us as we drove by. I had the window down (so I could quicky get the camera rolling if needed) and it was like someone firing a shotgun five feet from our ears.

Most of these flashes turn out to be unrelated to transformers, even though they are universally called 'exploding transformers'. All that is needed is two live wires to touch, or something to short out the wires - then BAM. Lightning can cause these shorts when it jumps from a live wire to ground. The old lightning channel actually acts as a wire, or conductive 'arc starter', which shorts out the insulator and creates an arc - which then sustains itself with the man-made electrical current.

I wasn't chasing, but once my sister and I got stopped by a construction crewman on Route 19 north of Summersville, WV. A minute later a huge plume of rocks and debris shot skyward in front of us with a loud boom that shook the ground. They were blasting a hillside to widen the highway. We didn't expect to see that.

 

[John Farley]

On May 6, 2001 I was on a tornado-warned storm just northeast of Tulsa, in a semi-rural semi-suburban area. The area was crawling with chasers and locals out trying to get a look at the storm. Suddenly a bolt hit a transformer about a block north of me, creating a BIG explosion. I continued driving west, and block or two later I came to a guy STANDING ON TOP OF A VAN with a video camera. Maybe he was trying to become part of the next explosion!

 

[John Hudson]

Due to unusually wet conditions here on Tuesday (drizzle and fog), we had three transformer explosions and pole-top fires within two hours of each other, causing multiple power outages in the city.

Exciting times.

John
VE4 JTH

 

[Danny Neal]

October 2nd, 2006 I think was the date, had a downburst occur right overhead...... For 15 minutes you would think that the world was coming to an end. The reason I say this is because I live in a 2 mile by 2 mile town consisting of 40,000 residents. Storm came in from the north, and all accross the horizon were brilliant flashes of green/blue/red. Reference to the Moore OK/OKC tornado to know what the power flash frequency I am talking about. It was like a fireworks show, one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. The power was lost for 119,000 people including me for 18 hours.

Another weird thing. The transformer behind my house has been hit by lightning 6 times in 3 years, and it is FAR from the tallest object in the area.

Final experience with powerflashes was on May 18th, 1997. 2 HP supercells one right after the other, rolled into my neighborhood and from a combination of 70 mph straight line gusts and Frequent +CG's from before the storm, about 50 - 60 green/red flashes *which are transformers* and 1000's of blue *powerlines arching* flashes.

Power line flashes can be your only savior in a nighttime storm as I am sure MANY of you know.

 

[Justin E. Reed]

The derecho that blew thru Mid. TN on July 13,2004 was an incredible event. I was llokin north as it approached from the 2nd floor of my house and it was continuous explosions along the horizon. I went outside and you could hear the roar of the winds as it came thru the woods north of town and it grew so loud as it came into my subdivision. If it wasnt tied down, it flew. I recorded winds sustained over 70 for a good 10 minutes, with a max gust of 82. Slats of shingles, large branches, trampolines, toys, whatever was light or could be airborne practically was. The low clouds created an orange glow as it plowed into town, and with each large tansformer explosion, you could see part of the glow fade away, pretty cool honestly. I didnt lose power because my side of Murfreesboro is predominately underground wiring.

 

[Marcus Opitz]

My parents described most recent ice storm to hit Springfield, Mo. as a shotgun or artilery blast every 5 seconds... I can remember the ice storm of 1987 had some transformer explosions, but nothing like what was describled...It seemed like during my child hood I would hear more transformer/powerline explosions than I do now, I have read they have put more and more lines underground in the area.

 

[John Olexa]

Not a whole lot for me, but I do remember while shooting the remnants of Floyd I had to dodge downed powerlines on foot that fell while I was shooting. Did a lot of line jumping lol.

Have had a few close calls shooting lightning, but nothing to write a book about.

 

[Michael Rogers]

I have read they have put more and more lines underground in the area.

They absolutely have here. I live in an area which is growing faster than anybody can keep up but in nearly all of the new subdivisions the power lines are underground, including my subdivision.

However, when I was about 10 years old I was looking out my back window right near some power lines. The transformer exploded just as I was looking outside. There was no storm or anything that I can recall giving the transformer a reason to explode. Just an old transformer I guess. Anyway, it was so bright I couldn't really tell you what color it was. All I could see was white, followed by orange flame. Now this was some time ago so my memory may not be correct here, but the sound I remember was just as scary as the sight. It made 3 or 4 VERY loud popping noises followed by what sounded like something shorting out, but it was one of the loudest things I've ever heard. Needless to say, I wet myself. Literally. Funny thing is, we didn't lose power.

Last year I was at home when some severe weather rolled through. I was not chasing since I just got off of work but as I arrived home we went under a Tornado Warning. In the distance I could see flashes of purple, blue, green, orange, etc. and it was flashing constantly for about 3 minutes. I thought for sure something was on the ground but alas, no tornado formed. I still wonder what that was all about.

Slightly off topic, but has anyone see these videos before? After I saw the first one, I thought it was fake. I was told by a friend in the electrical business that the video is indeed real. I’ve managed to find a second video as well. Check it out. How cool! High voltage power arcs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sngLL29LH14&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yfcASFq2a8

More on topic, electric lines during a wind storm. Cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q7qATVBEW8&NR

The wonders of electricity…

 

[Doug Mitchell]

On my way to the target today, an 18 wheeler's tire blew up right in front of us, does that count?

 

[Dan Robinson]

I was on my way to chase a snowstorm in the mountains when I came upon a single-vehicle accident that had just happened. The minivan was fully engulfed in flames. Shortly after I stopped and got the video camera rolling, the windows shattered and the tires started exploding.

When I was around two years old (back in the mid-late 70s), my parents took me to see a movie at a drive-in theater in Kanawha City, WV. While we were there, a gasoline tanker truck crashed on the WV Turnpike just above the drive-in and exploded. I can vaguely remember it despite my age at the time.