Bob CollinsHere’s the “money shot” from the storms that moved through the Midwest yesterday. Scott Olson at Getty Images grabbed the moment the lightning hit the former Sears tower.
I’ve left it in its original size for your viewing pleasure.
What are the odds of getting the shot? Apparently pretty good.
It happened in 2007…
It happened in 2010 — a three-fer
And 2011…
It’s estimated lightning strikes the tower around 50 times a year. It’s never been damaged. It’s designed to channel the energy into the ground.
Theoretically, since the lightning seeks the tallest object, we should see more pictures of tall buildings in Saint Paul and Minneapolis getting similarly tased. I’ve never seen one.
Who’s got one they’d like to share. I believe with our new system, you can post images in the comments section.
Related: The University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center has put a time-lapse video together from the GOES-14 satellite of yesterday’s storms.
