What Does A Tree Struck By Lightning Look Like

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.

Almost four in five trees struck by lightning. They shrink and turn brittle then drop in a matter of days. 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.

This occurs when the trunk or several branches split off and fall to the ground due to vehement expansion. Domart and garet nejm. Some 50 of trees hit by lightning die immediately. Major root damage from electricity may cause the tree to decline and die without significant aboveground damage.

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. The tree may also have charred areas on the trunk where the wood has burned from the heat of the strike. Lightning or electrical current passes from the trunk of the tree through the roots and dissipates in the ground. 3 thoughts on tree struck by lightning.

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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. When lightning strikes it turns the liquids inside the tree to gas instantly and the tree bark explodes. What a lightning strike really looks like rob kornacki says. Lightning is a massive electromagnetic discharge generated by an imbalance in the electrical charge in the atmosphere.

As you can imagine a tree after being struck by lightning is left with a scar which shows the lightning strike. Other damage can occur that may be less obvious. Sometimes you ll find that a tree jumps when struck by lightning. In addition the tree may have burned areas and part of the tree may even break.

If the tree is in leaf the leaves wilt and the tree will probably die within a few days. Lightening damage in trees is instantaneous. A tree struck by lightning may behave in unpredictable ways. What does a tree struck by lightning look like.

Some trees look absolutely normal following a lighting strike while others explode or burst into flames. 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. 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.