Lightning: the temperature of a single
lightning bolt reaches 50,000 degrees within a few milliseconds –
five times the temperature of the sun’s temperature. When a bolt strikes
a tree, the heat turns sap to steam. It happens so rapidly that an
explosion occurs spliting the tree. Hail: The largest measured hailstone weighed astonishing
1, 67 pounds! It fell on Coffeyille, Kansas in 1990. Tornadoes: an average tornado’s path is a quarter
mile wide and normally travels more than 16 miles. But on May 26,
1917, a tornado traveled 293miles across Illinois and Indiana and
lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes. Tornadoes do strange things. One lifted
a car with two people inside 100 (33,3 m) feet above ground and deposited
it right side up without injuring the started pair. Earthquakes: China has suffered from earthquakes more
than any other country in the world – it’s estimated that 13 million
Chinese have died in them Thunderstorm: In just 20 minutes a severe thunderstorm
can drop 125 million gallons of water and produce more electrical
energy than used in a large city during entire week. Volcanoes: when the eruption occurred on Krakatau
the explosion could be heard in Australia 2500 miles away. Untill
today there many active volcanoes in the workd. Hurricanes: winds sometimes blow more than 200 miles
an hour – and scientists say that a hurricane’s energy equals a dozen
of atomic bombs going off every second. Daily
News, Boston
|