Catatumbo Lightning Explained: What Causes the Everlasting Storm in Venezuela?

Lightning is one of the most recurrent and common spectacles of nature. Around the world, more than 3,000,000 lightning flashes happen daily, equivalent to around 44 strikes every second.

Considering the moisture present in our atmosphere, lightning occurs most often during summer months and less frequently during winter. However, a remote part of Venezuela is dubbed the "Lightning Capital of the World" because of its unique meteorological phenomenon characterized by consistent flashes of lightning.

What is Catatumbo Lightning?

Northwest Venezuela, where Lake Maracaibo meets the Catatumbo River, is home to 'eternal lightning.' On average, lightning strikes 28 times per minute for up to 9 hours each night. This is equivalent to 250 lightning strikes per square kilometer for 300 days each year.

Known as Catatumbo Lightning or Beacon of Maracaibo, this phenomenon is most active in September and October and least active in January and February. It can be observed in the southwest region of the lake and the Colombia-Venezuela border.

The awe-inspiring natural phenomenon creates quite a sight to behold. The flashes of electric bolt light up the sky with streaks of phosphorescent colors, with the white light being absorbed by dust and moisture to create a colorful, vibrant illusion. It can illuminate areas as far as 249 miles (400 kilometers), while the sound of accompanying thunder reaches only the immediate witnesses.

Since this event happens over water at night, it contradicts the global pattern of lightning, which normally occurs over land in the afternoon. It also has an age-old recognition and was used by sailors as a means of navigation.

This unique phenomenon has placed Venezuela in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the 'highest concentration of lightning.' It has replaced the Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of the most number of lightning strikes.

What Causes the Everlasting Storm?

Many factors, including local and seasonal drivers of climate, cause the Beacon of Maracaibo. Unique topographical features contribute to the escalating lightning frequency, such as the instability of air and moisture.

The constant storms are provided with sufficient moisture by the perpetual warm water of the Caribbean Sea, the tropical summer sun, and its resultant heat that absorbs moisture from the lake. Meanwhile, the mountain ranges leave the warm air in the northern region with limited space to move.

Solid and cool winds cross these mountain ranges in the evening and collide with the rising warm air, creating the perfect instability that feeds the formation of a cumulonimbus cloud. The turbulence resulting from the collision of warm and cool air plays a key role in forming a storm cloud, increasing the frequency of lightning. Ice crystals in the cool air collide with water droplets in the humid, warm air to produce static charges that are strong enough to light up to 100 million light bulbs.

The Catatumbo Lightning is not eternal. The lightning activity completely stopped from January to March 2010 and reappeared in April. Scientists believe this disruption was likely due to drought that overtook the region.