IN A
FLASH MEET THE MAN WHO SURVIVED FOUR LIGHTNING STRIKES WORDS AND PHOTO BY ANNA-RHESA VERSOLA
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CHATHAM MAGAZINE
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of Bear senses when an electrical storm is close – the hairs on his arms rise to attention. “That’s the tingle you feel before the strike,” he says. “That means you’re in an area that is highly charged.” Mark’s voice is low and steady as he describes a series of electrifying encounters with Mother Nature (see page 46) and how he lives with the physical and mental health effects
SUMMER 2021
ark Stinson Creek
of being struck by lightning on four separate occasions in Chatham County. Chris Hohmann, retired chief meteorologist at WTVD-11 in Durham, says rising heat and humidity in summer months can trigger a chain of atmospheric events that produce powerful thunderstorms. Chris says bolts can be hotter than the sun with some discharging more than 100 million volts and can cause surrounding air to expand so rapidly it sends out shock waves we hear as thunder; bolts can strike 10 miles away from a storm cell. “If you can hear thunder, you need to go inside,” Chris says. “People don’t