Ball Lightning ??? Hits locally, (or my eyes need a checkup).

[RJSV]

   Hello:
Early a.m. Saturday, about 4:30 Pacific Time (1@:30),  I was observing the big rain storm when the sky lit up, a big wide swath of smooth white,  no zig zag lightning and NO sound.
   That was very similar to florescent lamp action, almost as if the rain cloud itself was florescing internally !
The white light extinguished in separate little falters with slow reduction to dark, again.

   Next, another burst after about 5 minutes, this time straight overhead.  Funny thing was,  that overhead cloud seemed to be 'leaking' current down, down to around neighbor's chimney,  crackling the whole time.  Maybe 2 seconds total, and this time followed (soon), by a peal of thunder.

   That seemingly ground-headed 'leader' thing was kinda scary, especially for anybody caught out in the electrical storm !

   WTF !  Was this Ball Lightning ?

[coppercone2]

its out there I saw occur too. People that did not see it are just jealous. Plasma can some how self confine into a sphere sometimes and float around.

I suggest trusting your eyes when people are telling you what is possible and impossible based on first order Physics I explanations of what plasma and electricity can do or are lol

Though the ball plasma issue is a bit scary, it feels like a stargate episode, where someone is arguing with rodney about some strange occurrence.

[RJSV]

   The reply from coppercone2 helps introduce the idea of having a 'halo' or vaguely visible lines of force.  These things happened at a more slow scale, compared with the usual loud CLAP with brief flash.
   But still a quick grouping of effects, maybe 80/ milliseconds, along with 'sparky' noises.
I've tried asking neighbors, about the 4:30 am bursts, (and local news).

   In the schetch, I show that halo, seemingly attracted to the roof top metal pipe, having an egg-shaped field in glowing white.  On the paper, I used blue color to signify the white glow.
Meanwhile, in this, the sky directly over our houses, was glowing during the discharge event, that lasted maybe 1 1/2 seconds.

[RJSV]

  The enclosed picture shows the more extreme case, as that active rain cloud became directly overhead, sparking,...or almost it seemed.
Visible were a half-dozen streamers, surrounding the neighbor's chimney (and starlight dish).
   It seemed as though there was no clear 'clap' or spark, more like a bunch of 'leader' ionization paths, crackling and moving around.

   At that point, I retreated for safety sake, as our patio cover is metal sheeting and I'm not that into (hospital) drama.  Damp feet, no shoes, on concrete floor.
   Local news (via some Oklahoma TV station) didn't mention weird lightning, but there was a lot of rain related news.

[RJSV]

Picture.

[Xena E]

   That seemingly ground-headed 'leader' thing was kinda scary, especially for anybody caught out in the electrical storm !

   WTF !  Was this Ball Lightning ?

Sounds like sheet lightning, Rick.

Kind of equalising across the cloud layer?

Ground streamers before a lightning strike, some connect some don't. If you're outside in it and feel the hair stand up on your head, hit the dirt!

Ball lightning can be induced inside airplane fuselages, frightening.

Don't know what energy contains it, but it disperses like a burst soap bubble, it's a wonder of nature, dangerous perhaps but worth seeing just the once.

X

[RJSV]

...scared me so bad I wasn't interested in starting up my 'insomnia' easing meds (cannabis at 4 am).  Too cautious to be sitting out there, under a metal porch roof.

[ebastler]

If it was localized around the chimney, it might have been St. Elmo's Fire? Google will show you various pictures, many with a pronounced linear structure, some also more diffuse or fan-like.

[Analog Kid]

Ball lightning can be induced inside airplane fuselages, frightening.

I remember vividly something from my childhood (1960s).
I was sleeping over at a friend's house in Bethesda, MD, in their downstairs rec room. There was a thunderstorm outside.
Suddenly, through the open bathroom door to my left, I saw -- a lightning bolt that went from the ceiling of the bathroom to the floor. With a resounding crack.

Scared the shit out of us. (Not literally, fortunately.)

[jpanhalt]

I don't care what type of lightning it was.  I don't want to be near it.

One early Summer I was flying back from Oshkosh in Wisconsin to my home base at RST.  There were thunderstorms. On ILS approach, a lightning glow surrounded my only means of staying aloft, and all of my electronics died.  Never mind, I had needle, ball, and airspeed (along with the redundant gyros to look at).   Thankfully, I am not sure the passengers noticed.  None of them screamed.  Then the localizer and glideslope soon recovered.  No further incidents.  More recently,  I have opened the mandoor on my barn, felt the static push, decided to stay inside. 

I don't mess with lightning, nor would I dare stand outside and try to photograph it.  A sketch is scary enough.

[RJSV]

   Yes, in my situation, Saturday morning, there was the vacume cleaner plugged in, and a table saw, plugged in the wall.  That and the metal sheet porch roof, having unknown grounding.
I did not want a strike leader to leap from metal roof, going through my body, and continuing via my damp feet (socks) straight on the concrete floor.
   Consumption of sleep inducing meds can wait, I figured,  at least until that giant cloud moved away.

[Xena E]

Ball lightning can be induced inside airplane fuselages, frightening.

I remember vividly something from my childhood (1960s).
I was sleeping over at a friend's house in Bethesda, MD, in their downstairs rec room. There was a thunderstorm outside.
Suddenly, through the open bathroom door to my left, I saw -- a lightning bolt that went from the ceiling of the bathroom to the floor. With a resounding crack.

Scared the shit out of us. (Not literally, fortunately.)

At least you would have been in the right place if you were seated on the porcelain to shit yourself.

   Yes, in my situation, Saturday morning, there was the vacume cleaner plugged in, and a table saw, plugged in the wall.  That and the metal sheet porch roof, having unknown grounding.
I did not want a strike leader to leap from metal roof, going through my body, and continuing via my damp feet (socks) straight on the concrete floor.
   Consumption of sleep inducing meds can wait, I figured,  at least until that giant cloud moved away.

It doesn't have to be nearby. The inspiration for the childrens story, "Bridge to Terabithia" was a girl who was killed by a lightning bolt while playing on the beach, in Bethany Beach, Delaware, on a virtually cloudless day. There was a storm in the vicinity but not overhead.

If it had to happen, it would be a good way to go, as in quick! 

I saw a small tree being vapourised by a lightning bolt once as a kid, few bits of bark left scattered around a smouldering stump was all that was left.

Wouldnt be much of a person left to clear up.

X

[Gyro]

Picture.

You were lucky, I can see signs of an ascii discharge starting at the bottom of the chimney! 

[jimmy78787]

If you’ve witnessed a ball lightning phenomenon locally, it could be an extraordinary sight, but if you're unsure whether it’s your vision playing tricks, a visit to Koziol Eye might be a good idea. Their expert team can perform a thorough eye checkup to rule out any vision-related issues or anomalies.

[jimmy78787]

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[RJSV]

No,  the comment about vision was just a generic (and non-serious) commonly spoken aside.
   (Thanks to Xena E. here) that pretty much seems like it was 'sheet lightning' and have a normal loud thunder clap...just behind our hill there.

Looks like moderator maybe deleted an unwanted advertisement...(good).
Thanks.

[bson]

Is this the SF Bay Area?  We recently had some St Elmo's Fire around aircraft on approach to SFO here, obscured and diffused by fog, producing a surreal glow.