Bizarre weather last night in LA

I think this is the right place to post this. Last night was the strangest thing. I don't know if this happens anywhere else, but I've never seen weather like it here in Los Angeles. I live about 3 1/2 miles from LAX in Hawthorne.

Last night around 12:45 our security system went off, got a call from Brinks saying there was a fire detected. Looked around the house and there was nothing, my dogs were freaking out and I looked out the window and it seriously looked like there were strobe lights outside. I didn't hear any thunder so I went outside, the sky was flashing like mad, very fast bursts, couldn't see any typical lightning, maybe it was our polluted skies or the clouds, very weird. Went back to bed but then about 40 minutes the alarm went off again, dogs were getting more and more anxious, almost hyperventilating they were so scared. Like they get around July 4th, they're terrified of fireworks. The lightning storm lasted hours, no thunder at all. The alarm went off 3 more times. When I dragged myself out of bed at 5AM everything was calm as normal.

Very, very strange.

Anyone else in the area experience this?

Originally posted by Terra Serranum
I think this is the right place to post this. Last night was the strangest thing. I don't know if this happens anywhere else, but I've never seen weather like it here in Los Angeles. I live about 3 1/2 miles from LAX in Hawthorne.

Last night around 12:45 our security system went off, got a call from Brinks saying there was a fire detected. Looked around the house and there was nothing, my dogs were freaking out and I looked out the window and it seriously looked like there were strobe lights outside. I didn't hear any thunder so I went outside, the sky was flashing like mad, very fast bursts, couldn't see any typical lightning, maybe it was our polluted skies or the clouds, very weird. Went back to bed but then about 40 minutes the alarm went off again, dogs were getting more and more anxious, almost hyperventilating they were so scared. Like they get around July 4th, they're terrified of fireworks. The lightning storm lasted hours, no thunder at all. The alarm went off 3 more times. When I dragged myself out of bed at 5AM everything was calm as normal.

Very, very strange.

Anyone else in the area experience this?

Yes I posted it Earlier... I was so weird huh? I believe it was originating from a HUGE
Cloud over the 405 . between the valley and Santa Monica...

It was just like you said a giant strobe and No sound at all

www.abovetopsecret.com...


mod edit: fixed link

[edit on 15-8-2008 by DontTreadOnMe]

Just a thought here

You can have lightning without thunder. Maybe the flashes originating were to far away, or maybe the sound waves were deflected off other things

Anyway, Im gonna go check the closest skew-t diagram to see what the weather was like. Which direction is hawthorne in from LA?

yeah, we saw it too..sat in the garden and enjoyed the show////
natural phenomenon? highly likely...
cool? for sure....

reply to post by OzWeatherman


South West ,

Although the Cloud it self was just north east of Santa Monica CA

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
Just a thought here

You can have lightning without thunder. Maybe the flashes originating were to far away, or maybe the sound waves were deflected off other things

Anyway, Im gonna go check the closest skew-t diagram to see what the weather was like. Which direction is hawthorne in from LA?

Hawthorne is west of downtown, sort of stuck inbetween the beach and the hood.

Was something really strange, never would have known about it had it not freaked out the alarm system. That's the one truly puzzling thing, if it was so far away why mess with the security system? Even being close, we've never had a problem in a normal lightning storm, not that they happen too often around here.

Yeah ok

Having some trouble getting the past weather observations for the last few days. Seems the humidity was up and it appears to have been quite warm, good conditions for convective weather like thuderstorms

Still though would be better if I could get a METARS (i send these out as part of my job, where Iam) history to see what the half hourly obs were

Actually I'm also experienced the same in Eastern Europe. Great chain lightnings, great flashes, absolutely zero thunders. I don't think so it's natural at all. Where a lightning strikes, there MUST BE a thunder. But there was not a single one. Just lightning, flash and that's all. If the lightning is around 20 miles away, you can hear the thunder. But when the eye of the storm is around five or ten miles away of you, you can't hear anything? Strange. Definitely strange.

I have seen that exact thing here on the east coast more times growing up than I can count.I believe what you guys where witnessing is called heat lightening.It is completely normal atmospheric occurrence.

Heat lightning is a misnomer for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights, and to distinguish it from lightning with accompanying thunder. Ordinary lightning results from the discharge of negative ions created from the friction of ice and water particles bumping into each other at the bottom of a cloud. Heat lightning can be an early warning sign that thunderstorms are approaching. In Florida, heat lightning is often seen out over the water at night, the remnants of storms that formed during the day along a sea breeze front coming in from the opposite coast.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by chrisonabike


hi there,

good to see you are back posting mate

back on topic, i heard from my cousin last night he was in a hotel in the area on the 5th floor, he said it was ace !!!


thanks

snoopyuk

reply to post by CaptGizmo






But is this "Heat lightning" able to influence alarm system ??? Why it went off three times ??
What do know about ???

I went out to the beach just past Santa Monica pier and watched the lightning storm from about 1am to 2am. The lightning definitely came from over the water and there was thunder some of the time. Definitely over the bay south of Santa Monica as far as up the coast to the next point. About 30-40 of us were out there watching the show. Really cool to see in LA.

We had freaky weather like this in the UK over the past 3 days
the Thunder and lighting we had here was brilliant but have to say never heard thunder that loud before only two claps but right overhead i thought it was a bomb or something until the lighting hit and my whole room lit up, and yesteraday i was watching the skies with my daughter and we saw flashes above the clouds but no thunder, the flashes were very fast and quick and then the heavens opened and we were flooded.

But this is just normal summer or not so summer wether right, but i do love a good storm.

Originally posted by CaptGizmo
I have seen that exact thing here on the east coast more times growing up than I can count.I believe what you guys where witnessing is called heat lightening.It is completely normal atmospheric occurrence.

Heat lightning is a misnomer for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights, and to distinguish it from lightning with accompanying thunder. Ordinary lightning results from the discharge of negative ions created from the friction of ice and water particles bumping into each other at the bottom of a cloud. Heat lightning can be an early warning sign that thunderstorms are approaching. In Florida, heat lightning is often seen out over the water at night, the remnants of storms that formed during the day along a sea breeze front coming in from the opposite coast.

en.wikipedia.org...

That vid was amazing now that i would love to see in the Uk wow.

i wonder if this may have something to do with itwww.sciencedaily.com...



enlighten yes we have bizare weather for more than 3 days though

but then i been putting it down to all the crap going on in Georga etc
bar humbug!!!!

reply to post by CaptGizmo


WOW!!!
Indeed very detailed your explanation!!!
It is beautiful to understand whether to distinguish these events...Thanks

Maybe you are getting some monsoon storms. Here in Arizona ,the area I live in, there is lighting without thunder every night. Sometimes in originates in one large cloud, and that is the effect. I like watching them as long as they are not near my house. Lighting freaks me out when it is close. I am always afraid the house will burn down or something, lol

Ama

Originally posted by CaptGizmo
I have seen that exact thing here on the east coast more times growing up than I can count.I believe what you guys where witnessing is called heat lightening.It is completely normal atmospheric occurrence.

Heat lightning is a misnomer for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights, and to distinguish it from lightning with accompanying thunder. Ordinary lightning results from the discharge of negative ions created from the friction of ice and water particles bumping into each other at the bottom of a cloud. Heat lightning can be an early warning sign that thunderstorms are approaching. In Florida, heat lightning is often seen out over the water at night, the remnants of storms that formed during the day along a sea breeze front coming in from the opposite coast.

en.wikipedia.org...

Yup that what I saw!!! Good find case closed IMO

Thanks