Hawaii experiences another ominous night with record number of lightning strikes

May 4, 2011 – HAWAII – A wicked storm that brought hail, waterspouts and torrential rain to the islands Monday night, also packed an electrical punch that rocked Oahu and Kauai. “Yeah lightning can strike twice, it can strike 10-15 times in the same location,” said Warning Coordinator Meteorologist Michael Cantin. For the second time this year, Hawaii has experienced a spectacular electric show. In late February we saw nearly 21,000 lightning strikes in a five-hour window when a storm system stalled over Hawaii. “In total about 15,000 between that time period if you include that hour before from 4 p.m. it’s almost 20,000,” said Cantin. And if you look at a 30-hour window, Hawaii experienced a whopping 45,000 lightning strikes. Once again, residents were out with cameras and smart phones. “As exciting as they may be to see and as neat as phenomena as they are they are exceptionally dangerous. Waterspouts can over-turn boats, they can swallow up swimmers, they can cause the water to drown you, the strong winds,” he said. “Lightning obviously can electrocute you and burn you severely and leave you either dead or with major trauma.” A Waianae family reported lightning struck an antenna pole on their home shocking someone lying on the floor. Emergency officials say he was briefly unconscious but was not seriously injured. “When it comes to lightning especially of this magnitude no injuries, no deaths, and really not much damage whatsoever is extremely lucky.” –Khon2