She 'found a magnetic portal,' but didn't realize she was in mortal danger
A trip to a famous landmark almost ended in tragedy, although the visitors didn't realize the danger of the hair-raising event until after they posted a video on TikTok.
"We found a magnetic portal," Ale Soto posted on TikTok, panning to her mom's hair standing up on end at Horseshoe Bend in Arizona.
"Look at my hair, it's electrified," she said, in wonder. "Look at my mom's!"
They pointed and seemed to draw static to their fingers, resulting in crackling heard in the video.
What they didn't know then was that they had very narrowly cheated death.
After posting the video, she started receiving strange comments on it.
"Consider yourselves very lucky to make it home that day." commented one user.
"You were lucky this time. FYI when your hair stands up, that's a serious warning." said another.
The warnings were apt. Milliseconds before a lightning strike, negative ions from a cloud reach toward the Earth, causing a positive charge to reach up from multiple points on the ground, typically from metal objects or high points.
This illustration shows how lightning reaches out with negative ions (blue) and eventually makes contact with positive streamers (red) from the ground (NOAA)
These are called "positive streamers," and manifest as strong static that can audibly buzz and make people's hair stand on end. Meteorologists believe that Soto was part of a rarely documented field of static charge that had built up prior to the establishment of a lightning strike.
How do we know that positive streamers can be a precursor to a deadly lightning strike? An infamous photo of a similar static event was taken during a thunderstorm in California in 1975 and featured a young boy who was struck by lightning shortly thereafter. He remained in a coma for several months but survived. Another person on the mountain was killed by the same strike.
Lightning strikes (yellow) on Mar. 23, 2023 near Horseshoe Bend (LightningMaps.Org)
After comments on her video, Soto clarified, "We stayed there for over an hour and there was no lightning; there must be another explanation."
Data from LightningMaps.Org shows that there were several strikes that afternoon approximately 20 miles northeast of Horseshoe Bend, over the state line in the vicinity of Lake Powell, Utah. The lightning was likely too far away to hear thunder at Horseshoe Bend.
The static charges associated with a thunderstorm can't be seen with the naked eye, although St. Elmo's Fire, seen on planes and boats, may be manifestations of a similar buildup of static before a lightning strike.
While the Hurricane Hunters were doing a winter storm flight across the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 15, they captured weather phenomenon St. Elmo’s Fire.
As Soto's story and a similar event in the U.K. AccuWeather wrote about in 2023 prove, positive streamers cover wide areas and don't always guarantee lightning will hit immediately, but they are a sign that lightning is brewing, and you should immediately leave the area. Even if research hasn't determined what percentage of danger you're in when serving as a positive streamer, it's better to be safe than sorry.
If you experience this situation or hear thunder, seek shelter in a building or car. The National Weather Service (NWS) says that there is no safe position that will protect you from a lightning strike if you're not sheltered.
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