Amazing Weather Stories

Some would say Roy Sullivan was the unluckiest man to ever walk the planet. Or some might say he was the luckiest. The reason being, Roy Sullivan managed to survive being struck by lightning seven times throughout his life. You might be thinking, there’s no way that’s even possible and this is just another internet myth. But the fact is, all seven lightning strikes were documented and recorded by the superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, R. Taylor Hoskins, and all his injuries were verified by various doctors. Nicknamed the “Lightning…
Read more

The year was 1959. Lt Colonel William Rankin, an experienced and veteran pilot of both World War II and Korea, was flying his F-8 Crusader on a routine flight from South Weymouth Naval Air Station, Massachusetts to Beaufort, North Carolina with his wing-man Lt. Herbert Nolan. At an altitude of 47,000 feet and a speed of Mach .82, they were avoiding the turbulent weather below, common in the area during the summer months. They where just minutes away from the start of their descent when trouble forced the 39-year old…
Read more

Thunderstorms are very powerful events. They can produce grape fruit sized hail, terrifying lightning, strong winds, torrential rains and tornadoes. But another less noticed product of a thunderstorm is the updraft, unless you happen to be caught in one while flying a paraglider. That’s exactly what happened to a German woman who was flying a paraglider in Tamworth, Australia while training for the World Championship. Caught in a powerful updraft, Ewa Wisnierska found out first hand how terrifying and painful a thunderstorm can be. While training in her glider, two…
Read more