Is Ball Lightning Real And If So, Can it Kill Michiganders?

Have you ever heard of "Ball Lightning," can it happen in Michigan, and is it dangerous?

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Is There Such Thing as Ball Lightning?

It's amazing sometimes what I learn when I listen to my son. We were driving back from Indiana this past weekend and we were just talking up a storm and he brought up the topic of ball lightning and it was something I had never heard of before.

I told my son what? I've never heard of ball lightning. My son says, "Give me your phone and I will look it up and show you." Sure enough, there is such a thing as ball lightning so when we got home, I needed to know more, and off to Google I went.

It turns out that ball lightning is a little-known rare phenomenon where a moving globe of light, will move around in Earth's atmosphere and can last up to a minute. Scientists to this stay still do not fully understand it.

These balls of electricity happen during thunderstorms and can appear in a variety of colors like red, orange, yellow, white, and blue. It is pretty easy to look at one of these and see how they could be interpreted as being a UFO.

Ball lightning can move slowly or fast and is said to be able to move through glass and walls but it is now known what causes the occurrence. There is a theory that it is caused by the electrical breakdown of air. A second theory is that it is the result of plasma discharge either way it's just theories.

Can Ball Lightning Harm Humans?

Ball lightning has been known to enter buildings and explode, setting the room on fire and even injuring people. Ball known has been known to kill humans if they get a direct hit. Many times it will just shock humans but many have experienced burn marks, death, or severe injury.

Does Ball Lightning Occur In Michigan?

Ball lightning can occur anywhere in the world and according to amasci.com  there was a case that occurred in 1984 in Southwest Michigan where a ball traveled a few feet striking a young man in the chest it blew his shirt off and the heat was so intense it burned his internal organs. If you see ball lightning you must stay away from it and do not touch it because it may be the last thing you ever reach for.

See ball lightning in action in the video below: