Catatumbo Lightning

Despite how cool lightning is, it rarely occurs. Lightning must be spectacular in some way if you want it to stand out in a crowd. Exactly that is what you get when you use Catatumbo lightning. It only affects Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela and the neighborhood around it. About 160 nights' worth of storms occur in this area annually. They also deliver lightning in large quantities.

Around the lake, lightning strikes have been seen at a rate of 28 per minute. Every night, there may be up to 250 strikes per square kilometer. It has been happening for hundreds of years and appears to be specifically brought on by the local weather patterns. As lake water evaporates, the cold air from the Andes mountains mixes with the warm air, creating conditions for seemingly endless storms and dazzling lightning displays.