Cool lightning pics

[Luckynumber3]

The other day a huge storm blew over, and the day before that there was a big hailstorm.

Found these photos online from last night's storm...


Eight bolts of lightning hit the Bay Bridge during a powerful lightning storm in San Francisco on Thursday, April 12, 2012. A record number of lightning bolts struck the Bay Area during the storm.



Lightning strikes the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday, April 12, 2012. A record number of lightning bolts struck the Bay Area.




A lightning bolt strikes over downtown Oakland on April 12, 2012. From Damon Tighe: "Great storm over Oakland. Most of the bolts were at my back, but I was lucky to get one striking right where I was hoping it would: over downtown!"


From David Jones: I took the photo from The Paramount (our apartment building) on 3rd and Mission. It was taken at 8:30pm last night.

I was having a quiet night at home. After I heard the thunder I decided to see if I could photograph the lighting so I started to take photos exposed for about 20 seconds with that hope that within that 20 seconds a strike of lightning would hit.

Sure enough, after taking over 300 photos lightning struck on one of them.

I don't believe it was a lucky shot, you just need to increase your chances of capturing the lightning by taking a lot of photos and making sure the shutter is always open and ready.

I've had so much feedback about the photo, from a simple "thanks" to people wanting to print it. And of course if they get enjoyment out of it, I'm happy to hand over the original. Twitter: @d_jones


A lightning bolt strikes over San Carlos on April 12, 2012. From Fernando Ramirez: "I sat halfway out a window on the roof of my house taking several shot for about an hour or so. My settings were ISO 100, 58 second exposure at f11."


A lightning bolt strikes the Transamerica tower in downtown San Francisco on Thursday night.


The lightning storm over SOMA in San Francisco on Thursday night, April 12, 2012.


A double lightning strike on the Golden Gate Bridge shot Thursday, April 12, 2012, from the Marin Headlands.

(04-13) 10:57 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The thunderstorm that blew through the Bay Area Thursday night was one for the books - it shattered rainfall records in four cities and produced more lightning strikes than any storm in years.

The National Weather Service counted 750 lightning strikes across the Bay Area between 8 p.m. and midnight, said Chris Stumpf, a forecaster.
"That's quite a bit more than we've almost ever had, at least in recent memory," he said. "It's nice to mix things up."

Bolts hit the tower of the new Bay Bridge and the cranes at the Port of Oakland, as well as an airplane that had just taken off from San Francisco International Airport. The plane turned back without incident.

The sheets of rain knocked out power and broke records, but caused no major flooding, officials said. There were no problems along the stretch of Folsom Street in San Francisco's Mission District that was inundated by sewage when storm drains overflowed earlier Thursday.

A mudslide in Piedmont closed Moraga Avenue between Red Rock Road and Estates Drive, said John Tulloch, a spokesman for the city. The slide carried trees and power lines onto the road.

City crews will spend most of the day trying to clear away the mud, Tulloch said.

About 1.2 inches of rain fell in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, breaking the April 12 record of 0.92 of an inch set in 2003.

A weather station in downtown Oakland recorded 1.26 inches, more than double the previous record for the date of 0.59 of an inch set in 2003.
Weather stations in Mountain View and San Jose also recorded new records for the date, Stumpf said.

The storm knocked out power to 6,500 customers across the Bay Area, said Jana Morris, a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokeswoman. As of 10 a.m., crews were still working to restore power to 1,400 customers, including several hundred in Concord, Oakland and San Francisco.

PG&E recorded 162 lightning strikes on its equipment in San Mateo County, said Joe Molica, a spokesman for the utility. Each bolt of lightening is 1 billion volts, and most PG&E equipment is designed to carry between 4,000 and 12,000 volts, Molica said.

"You're talking about a lot energy going into our system, which can cause some damage," Molica said.

The rest of Friday should be partly cloudy, a little breezy and mainly dry, Stumpf said. Skies should be mostly clear by the time the Giants take the field for their home opener at AT&T Park at 1:35 p.m.

"There could a few scattered showers, but nothing more than that," Stumpf said. "Just a light shower that will blow through pretty quickly."
Will Kane is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Twitter: @WillKane

Pretty cool- wish I had some of my own pics to share!

[schoolie]

That was a crazy lightning storm that we had last night! We don't get many of them, so it was fun to watch. I've never seen a picture of the GG bridge struck by lightning. Very cool, both towers simultaneously.

[180gROC]

It's been a crazy couple days. I had a bolt hit close enough to me earlier in the week that I wasn't really keen to go outside when it was really going off the last couple days. I live on top of a hill.

My hair stood up on end for a half second then BOOM!

[schoolie]

Originally Posted by 180gROC

It's been a crazy couple days. I had a bolt hit close enough to me earlier in the week that I wasn't really keen to go outside when it was really going off the last couple days. I live on top of a hill.

My hair stood up on end for a half second then BOOM!

Wow, that's scary! Glad you are OK

[Luckynumber3]

Originally Posted by 180gROC

It's been a crazy couple days. I had a bolt hit close enough to me earlier in the week that I wasn't really keen to go outside when it was really going off the last couple days. I live on top of a hill.

My hair stood up on end for a half second then BOOM!

Yeah, I forgot about that tornado too...

Tornado touches down near Stockton, California | abc7news.com








I live in California and not Oklahoma for a reason, and it seems that the world is ending or something!

[coldsteal2]

so thats why my cable went out last night......

we have been having crapy weather in Ca all week

[180gROC]

I grew up on a major faultline and for frequency alone I'll take earthquakes over tornadoes any day. Until they get really big quakes are just cute amusement rides.

Whoops, broke a dish! Brickwork cracked. Oh my!

As opposed to "Toto I don't think we're in Kansas anymore and hey where'd the house go?"

Dealing with both sucks, but the Midwest floods too, so I ain't bitchin'.

Theoretically California could actually fall into the ocean, like all those people back there told me it was gonna.

[naturalblack]

Lightning is amazing to me. Beautiful, powerful, unpredictable, and still as common place as anything else we experience. Energy bright enough to light a pitch black sky and moves enough air to make a noise loud enough to shake the earth around you even if just for a moment.

[voodo child]

Originally Posted by Luckynumber3

A lightning bolt strikes over San Carlos on April 12, 2012. From Fernando Ramirez: "I sat halfway out a window on the roof of my house taking several shot for about an hour or so. My settings were ISO 100, 58 second exposure at f11."

[nauc]

i wonder what the bridges look like now, where they got hit

thats crazy