Everlasting Lightning of Venezuela

In Venezuela, there is a place where a storm rages on and on. Lightning strikes the earth nonstop and gives the people of Zulia,Venezuela a beautiful but dangerous light show. This marvel is known as “Relámpago del Catatumbo” (Catatumbo lightning). This only happens in one spot of Venezuela, which is at the mouth of the Catatumbo river (this river empties into lake Maracaibo). The Catatumbo river is quite swampy and a bit polluted.

This lightning last for about 200-300 days a year and only happens about an hour after dark, according to an article from MysteriousUniverse. There is about 3,600 strikes an hour and 40,000 strikes a night, this lightning is visible from as far as 250 miles away! Natives used to refer to this river as the “River of Fire”. One strange thing that has to do with this storm, is that it will stop for long periods of time and then unexpectedly show up. Natives of the state enjoy living there to see the beautiful view, but would some JPEC students feel the same? Emma Kuhl (8th grader) said she wouldn’t live there because “it’s scary”. Vasily Yevseyev (8th grader) said “I would live there but more in the mountains because it would be something cool to see at night, like the 4th of july”.