Why does lightning strike only once in one place?

Question

Why doesn't lightning strike in the same place twice?

Answer 1

hi V.. interesting question..  finally i found you on Y!A.. :)

actually its only a myth.. that says lightning only strikes one place at once.. it doesn’t have a memory, and if an object has been struck once, it is no less likely to be struck a second time. If you don’t believe me, just ask some of the employees at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The shuttle launch pad gets hit time and time again, sometimes more than once in the same storm... and remember also Empire State Building in New York city which gets struck by lightning about 25 times each year. some also say it's struck more than 100 times a year, on average. The building is even designed as a lightning rod to keep lightning away from other buildings.

here is a good article for you.. it will give you more explanation:

http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/light...

Answer 2

could it probably because lighting occurs when the ground and clouds have opposite charges and when lightening strike, the charges are neutralized so it will likely to strike at the next target?

Answer 3

It doesn't. This is a myth. Lightning can, and has, struck the same place multiple times.

Answer 4

If you are referring to when it seems like a lighting bolt strikes one place, fades away for a second, then comes back and strikes that same place again, then yes, lightning can strike the same place twice.

The reason for this is that there is so much energy built up at the bottom of the storm cloud that the same lightning bolt strikes twice, sometimes even more times. The process begin when a single negative charge (electron) separates from the base of a cloud and begins heading toward the ground. This negative charge is called a "stepped leader".

Meanwhile, on the ground, positive charges build up and begin moving up to meet the negative stepped leader because as you know, opposite charges attract each other.

When they connect, a channel is established and more electrons begin flowing down from the cloud. At the same time, a "return stroke" of positive charges emanate from the ground and move upward along the channel.

The return stroke is what we see as lightning.

Then, if there is enough of a charge available in the cloud, another negative charge (called a "dart leader") will come down the already established channel and the whole process will occur again, giving some lightning flashes we see a flickering appearance.

From the NSSL (National Severe Storm Laboratory) FAQ

Can lightning strike the same place twice?

--Lightning does hit the same spot (or almost the same spot) more than once, contrary to folk wisdom. It could be simply a statistical fluke (i.e., with all the lightning that occurs, eventually lightning will strike somewhere near a previous lightning strike within a short period of time). It could also be that something about the site makes it somewhat more likely to be struck. Typically, when lightning strikes something on the ground, the object that is struck sends a faint channel upward that joins the downward developing flash and creates the connection to the ground. Taller objects are more likely than shorter objects to produce the upward channel. But it is also possible that something that locally affects the ability of the ground to conduct electricity (such as the salt or moisture content of the ground at the time, the presence or absence of rock, standing water, pipes or other metal objects in the ground), the terrain shape, the shape of leaves or twigs, or something else might make a particular location more likely than another nearby location to be struck.

I'm not really sure if that answers your question.

Sorry if it didn't.