Where on earth do the most lightning strikes occur?

Commonly known as the most electric place in the world!

According to NASA, the greatest number of lightning strikes occur near the Catatumbo River in Venezuela (40,000 strikes every night, for most of the year ).

Where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo, there are often 28 lightning strikes hitting the lake each minute. Scientists believe lightning here occurs far more than anywhere else, due to local topography and wind patterns. Winds crash into cool air spilling down from the Andes, forcing them up until they condense into thunderclouds.

More Info: io9.gizmodo.com

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36 Comments

elizawheeler

That surprised me, I thought it would be some area of one of the oceans.

Howard Groopman

Bridy4u , LIGHTNING. Commonly misspelled word. It's 2 syllables: Light and ning.

earlepg

Like it said in a couple of comments earlier, I saw a documentary a few years ago which indicated that Maracaibo had the most activity with lightning strikes. I remember seeing some clips that the picture reminded me of.

Carole Vermillion Laffey

Used a double chance, should have just used replace.

Jim Mascair

I read about it before in an article about lightning.

Roselyn L Prollo

Lake Maracaibo: The world's top lighting hotspot is over lake Maracaibo in Northwestern Venezuela.Here nocturnal thunderstorm occur on average about 297 day per year and produce an average of about 232 lightning flashes/ Square kilometers/ year.

GONavarini

A GREAT Question!

Vicky Rosenberg

I guessed right because I thought of heat and water together

littledick

I was going to pick the Congo, but chose the correct answer only because it was strange and also tropical. In other words, I didn't KNOW the correct answer, but made an educational guess. I'm glad to see "lightning" spelled correctly. I have often seen it spelled "lightening" on these quizzes. Granted, lighting might lighten up the place a bit.

globetrekker

karen twirly, Huh...I got my Info. from them too...Funny thing is, they said it was Africa, so I picked the Congo, cuz it was the only place to pick..They also said Florida gets hit VERY often by splash and dash showers..

globetrekker

It's changed, or they got it wrong...It use to be in Africa, so I chose the only place in Africa that was listed, which was the Congo, so I picked that...Also, Florida gets hit VERY often also...They have what meteorologist call, splash and dash showers..