'It looked like someone fell from the sky with a chain saw … '

Lightning splits spruce in Lazy Mountain family's yard

July 10, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- A Lazy Mountain family startled Thursday night when a lightning bolt cleaved a spruce tree in their yard and sent splinters of wood flying Thursday evening.

"It looked like someone fell from the sky with a chain saw and did a spiral around the tree," 11-year-old Jimmy Webb said as he surveyed the spruce Friday at his home off Clark-Wolverine. "There was lots of thunder. I liked it. I wish I'd seen the bolt that hit the tree."

The Webb family had been watching a video after the midweek thunderstorm canceled Jimmy's soccer game. From their entertainment-center window upstairs, they saw chunks of wood flashing through the air. It was about 7:30 p.m. An almost-deafening noise led them to believe a bolt of lightning hit their home

"I've never heard it that loud. It was kind of like a scene from 'War of the Worlds,'" Jimmy's father, Mark Webb, said. "It was like explosions going on."

The storm started out with lightning and thunder followed by a short-lived but powerful rainfall. Minutes later, the sky was blue and the sun was shining, Mark said.

"We've been in Alaska since 1979 and I've never seen storms like this summer's," Mark said. "We've gotten so used to the rain during the summers, but not the lightning storms. Palmer is experiencing unusual weather this summer."

With weather -- especially in Alaska, where climatology records only date back 100 years --it's hard to label what's normal and what's unusual weather, according to Eddie Zingone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Weather systems that create perfect conditions for a thunderstorm have been around for a while, Zingone said, and there has been a persistent stream of cool air at levels above the Valley. After a hot, sunny day in Mat-Su reaches its peak, that hot air near the surface rises to meet the cold air, creating an air-mass thunderstorm, he said.

On Wednesday and Thursday, an upper-level disturbance forced the warm air to rise higher than usual, allowing the two severe storms to intensify. Lightning and thunder are caused when water and ice particles rub together, like a balloon rubbed on carpet generates static electricity, but on a much larger scale, Zingone said.

"The Valley is going to get more thunderstorms than Anchorage because of its topography," Zingone said.

The angle of the ridge between Wasilla and Hatcher Pass helps the sun heat it up, and trap that warmth. Storms in Anchorage often dissipate when they reach Cook Inlet or Knik Arm, he explained.

Mark Webb's wife, Robin, speculated that perhaps global warming is causing the thunderstorm systems, warmer summers and milder winters. She said this summer's weather reminds her of Colorado's 2 p.m. thunderstorms.

Zingone said he was reluctant to comment on global warming, saying that would be a personal opinion rather than scientific evidence. "There are weather cycles, but we don't have enough info to see," he said. "We've been in a weather pattern conducive to thunderstorms. That's what it boils down to."

Dawn De Busk can be reached at 352-2252.