1.21 Jiggowatts! Times 90,000

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Aug 6, 2008 7:15PM

During their peak, Monday's storms produced 800 strikes per minute (!!!) and all-told produced 90,000 strikes across Northern Illinois. Ron Holle, meteorologist at the National Lightning Detection Network, says the 10,000 strikes recorded within a 10-mile of radius, "...comes out to probably half of the whole year's lightning in that area." And what say Skilling? "There was no precedent for this. In every way imaginable, that storm last night was in its own league." Fire departments across the area blamed the lightning for starting dozens of fires.