The 9 Most Frequent Dangers in the Mountains, and How to Avoid Them As enchanting as the mountains maybe, they are far from forgiving. Some dangers are external, like avalanches, wildlife, and massive storms, and some are internal, ones you cannot see coming, like altitude sickness, getting lost, and hypothermia. You must always stand guard while on top of the world if you’d like to make it back down. Below you can learn about the nine most […] Spencer Miller | May 5, 2025 13 Comments
Lightning Strike Kills Camper in the Teton Wilderness Teton County Search & Rescue was notified at 6:25 pm on Tuesday, August 2, that lightning had struck a group of backpackers camped at Enos Lake in the Teton Wilderness. One person, a 22-year-old male, died in the incident, while another, an adult male, sustained significant injuries. The lightning bolt reportedly hit the backpackers at camp. The men were part […] SnowBrains | August 4, 2022 0 Comments
Giant Sequoias Unharmed in California Wildfire For nearly two weeks, a fire has ravaged across the western side of California Sierra Nevada, known as the KNP Complex. Despite burning through California’s Sequoia National Park, there hasn’t been observed damage to any of the 2,000 sequoias in the park, including the largest, most well-known sequoia trees of the bunch. The fire, which was started by lightning strikes, […] Brains Breya Bergom | September 21, 2021 0 Comments
The United States Has a New Lightning Capital We have a new lightning capital of the United States! Related: NOAA: 5 Striking Facts Versus Myths About Lightning You Should Know Researchers at Vaisala found that, during the period from 2016-2020, Oklahoma experienced the most lightning flashes per square kilometer, passing Florida. The rest of the top 5 are Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas ranking 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively. […] WeatherBrains | April 29, 2021 0 Comments
NOAA: 5 Striking Facts Versus Myths About Lightning You Should Know This post first appeared on the NOAA website Lightning is a random act of nature that can strike at any time of the year, most often during summer months. Related: When Lightning Strikes: This Simple Advice Could Save Your Life So far this year, there have been 26 people reported to have been struck by lightning; 12 of those people died.* […] Brains WeatherBrains | August 21, 2020 0 Comments
VIDEO: Lightning Strikes Building in China Check out this video of a building getting hit by lightning! It is unclear exactly what happened, but it is clear that being outside during this incident was a bad idea. Those sparks showering the ground are most likely parts of the ground wire flaking off from the extreme heat produced. Related: ‘Megaflashes’ | New World Records Set for Longest […] Alex Camerino | August 6, 2020 0 Comments
Deadly Hail and Damaging Winds: A Look at Argentina’s Record Setting Thunderstorms Córdoba Province in Argentina is home to the most severe thunderstorms ever recorded. Most of these intense storms last for a very short period of time but can be deadly. Little was actually known about these storms until 160 atmospheric scientists started paying attention in 2018. Using Doppler on Wheels (DOW) the scientists from the US, Argentina, and Brazil studied the storm […] Brains Alex Camerino | August 3, 2020 0 Comments
VIDEO: Teenage Soccer Player Struck by Lightning and Survives [arve url="https://youtu.be/qpC8UEPyEHU"] SnowBrains | July 24, 2020 Likes Tweets 0 Comments
Monsoon Possible for Colorado this Weekend: First One of the Season And just when you thought hurricane season was over, it’s monsoon season in Colorado. Related: Brain Post: Megaflashes’ | New World Records Set for Longest Lightning Flashes in Brazil and Argentina A potential monsoon is expected to land in Colorado this weekend, bringing in large amounts of moisture from the south. Chris Tomer, a Colorado-based meteorologist, wrote in a Facebook post […] Weather WeatherBrains | July 23, 2020 0 Comments
An Extremely Rare Derecho Event Hit the Rocky Mountains on Saturday What a wild day Saturday was over the Intermountain West and the western Great Plains! The day started out with a line of severe storms initiating over eastern Utah causing flash flooding in Arches National Park and other surrounding areas. These storms then progressed into Colorado and Wyoming where they maintained their structure. As they did so, they brought destructive […] Weather Eric McNamee | June 9, 2020 0 Comments
When Lightning Strikes: This Simple Advice Could Save Your Life Lightning strikes the earth 45 times every single second (that’s 1.4 billion flashes a year). According to the NOAA, the United States averages 51 lightning strike fatalities every year, second only to flooding for deadly weather. Ten times that amount are struck but survive. The odds of becoming a lightning victim in the US in any given year is 1 in 700,000, […] Weather Steven Agar | May 19, 2020 0 Comments
VIDEO: Witness the Destructive Power of Nature as Lightning Strikes a Tree in Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA BOOM! A visitor in Lassen Park’s Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center caught this video showing just how powerful lightning can be. Related: Lightning Strike Causes 6 Injuries at PGA Tour Championships Today The perfectly timed video captures the moment a lightning bolt hits the top of a tree outside, exploding the tree and launching fragments into the air. Sound up… “1.21 […] WeatherBrains | February 7, 2020 0 Comments
Colorado Man Seriously Injured by Lightning Strike in Rocky Mountain National Park A Colorado man suffered numerous severe injuries as a result of a lightning strike on Saturday in Rocky Mountain National Park northwest of Denver, CO. Other hikers found the man suffering from numerous serious injuries along the trail and called park rangers. It was not known if he was directly struck by lightning. Related: When Lightning Strikes: This Simple Advice Could […] Weather WeatherBrains | August 20, 2019 0 Comments
Bear Sitting High Up in Tree Struck by Lightning and Killed It’s not just humans that are victims of lightning strikes. On Monday night, a bear in Colorado was killed when the tree it was sitting in was struck by lightning, according to wildlife officials. Lightning doesn’t just kill people in Colorado. This tree in Woodland Park was struck by lighting late Monday night. Unfortunately, this old bear was in the […] Weather WeatherBrains | August 14, 2019 0 Comments
Montana Woman Survives Lightning Strike While Camping on Friday Night A woman from Missoula, Montana survived being struck by lightning on Friday night in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. She was camping on a river near the town of Hamilton with family and friends when a thunderstorm rolled through the area. The woman suffered 3-degree burns from the lightning strike. “She says she was holding a stainless steel mug when […] Industry News SnowBrains | August 12, 2019 0 Comments
Direct Lightning Strike Kills Man Hiking on Flagstaff Mountain, Boulder, CO Two hikers were struck by lightning on a peak in Boulder County, CO killing one and injuring the other. The 36-year-old man died while his 37-year-old wife sustained non-life threatening injuries Sunday on Flagstaff Mountain. Related: When Lightning Strikes: This Simple Advice Could Save Your Life According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, the husband and wife were hiking on […] CragBrains | July 16, 2019 0 Comments
Highly Charged Atmosphere on Colorado 14ers Had Hikers Running for Safety this Weekend A post on Facebook by meteorologist Chris Tomer shows the effect of a highly charged atmosphere on the top of Colorado 14ers. Not somewhere I’d like to be in a lightning storm! 11:00 am on Saturday, July 6, 2019: The atmosphere was charged with electricity on 14ers Evans and Princeton (& likely others). Hair was standing on end and hikers were […] Weather WeatherBrains | July 10, 2019 0 Comments
Lightning Just CLOSED Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows, CA For The Day Lightning storms just rolled through Lake Tahoe, CA and completely closed Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows for the day today at 2:28 pm PST. Due to incoming lightning and increasing winds, the following lifts are closed for the day at Squaw: – Funitel– Gold Coast– Shirley Lake– Big Blue#squawlifts — Squaw Alpine Mtn Ops (@squawalpineops) March 6, 2019 The following […] Conditions Report SnowBrains | March 6, 2019 3 Comments
Lightning Myths Debunked! Separate the Facts from the Fiction and How to Survive a Lightning Strike Is it true that lightning never strikes the same place twice? Are you safe from lightning if you are under a tree? Separate facts from fiction here with more NOAA Myths versus Facts… Weather WeatherBrains | June 30, 2018 0 Comments
Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Both Closed for the Day Due to Safety Concerns Caused by Heavy Snow Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows both closed all lifts this afternoon due to safety concerns caused by heavy snowfall, high winds, and lightning. Mammoth has received 5-feet of snow this last storm alone, and this afternoon advised the public that they were closing all lifts until tomorrow due to heavy snowfall, strong winds, and safety concerns. All lifts will […] Weather SnowBrains | March 22, 2018 0 Comments