BALL LIGHTNING
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I had been messing around with a toaster and unwittingly bend the leeds close enough so that when i plugged it in to a socket with a fuse behind it not a breaker, the electricity arced the gap and a bright blue ball a 1/2 inch bigger than a golf ball was created it fell to the floor accelerated across it, bounced off the wall and disappeared out of sight in to the next room where I next heard "buff are you all right?". It has been years since this incident but I have recently been interested in being able to create these on command. buff hooper <buffgg a gmail com> telluride, co USA - Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 16:21:34 (PST)

On 11/5/2006 at about 7 PM CST my brother and I were driving through a thunderstorm after completion of the Dickies 500 NASCAR race in Fort Worth. The area was flat and we could see numerous bolts hit. The temperature was about 65 dgrees and there was very little rain. Off to the left of our vehicle a bright glow appeared for close to one second. It was very bright, spherical, and nearly white in apparent color. Both of us saw it even though my brother was driving and it was more than 90 degrees to his left. It was about 15 degrees above the horizontal. I could not tell the size and distance but I am sure that it was between 1/4 and 1/2 mile away. There was no thunder or report associated with the event. There were numerous thunderclaps associated with bolts before and after the event. I told my brother that I thought that the event was ball lightning. Robert Reardon <))rreardon(( a ((aug edu))> Fort Worth , TX USA - Monday, November 06, 2006 at 11:54:32 (PST)

My brother and I were talking one night. He in the living room and I was in the dining area. The two areas were near enough that we were about 15 feet apart. All of a sudden a comet like ball (size of a large cantelope) flew in-between us. It was night, no rain but it was monsoon season. It flew across the room and into a mirror. It was yellow, orangish and the small "tail" to it was in the front of it. It made no noise, no smell, nothing. The look on our face must've been something else. This was back in 1989 and I will never forget it. Was it ball lightning? I must add that this was at my grandfathers house not too long after his death and other strange things happened. I wish I knew if it was a natural or paranormal phenomena??? Wendy Heiden <wendysline a yahoo com> Tucson, AZ USA - Sunday, November 05, 2006 at 04:22:20 (PST)

A few years ago (about 1999), it was about 11pm and I was talking to my girlfriend as she finished her bath in a corner jacuzzi tub. She stood up and I handed her a towel. She was standing in the draining water and wrapping the towel around herself. We were facing each other about three feet apart when suddenly, right between us, inside and a few inches below the top edge of the tub and about 2 inches away from the wall of the tub which separated us, just above the drain, there appeared a ball of very bright orange light. It was about the size of a grapefruit, bright orange and "sizzled and crackled" like bacon frying. We both saw it and she jumped about fearing electrocution since she was ankle deep in the water. I quickly helped her out of the tub and then knowing I'd seen something very very unusual, as she ran to the bedroom, I immediately (within 3 seconds of it disappearing) bent down and touched the drain, faucet and other metal fixtures to see if there was any electrical charge. I also stuck my head into the very spot where the ball had appeared and sniffed to see if I could smell any ozone which I know accompanies electrical discharges like short circuits. There were no electrical charges present and no odor of any kind. Also, the water had not yet finished draining, so no chance of sewer gas escaping and igniting (there was a lit candle on the corner ledge of the tub against the wall about 3 feet away from the ball, behind my girlfriend ). The glowing ball never moved and lasted a full 4 to 5 seconds. It appeared instantly and disappeared instantly. Within a minute, we were both sitting on the bed comparing what we'd seen and heard and agreed that we both had experienced the exact same event from 1.5 feet away but from opposite angles. We agreed that our first thoughts were that something in the jacuzzi tub had shorted and that she was in danger of getting shocked, but she said she never felt any kind of electrical shock. It creeped us out very much. Within a couple of minutes I speculated that what we had experienced might have been ball lighting which I had heard about, but didn't know much about. Also, the jacuzzi part (electrical) of the tub was not on at the time of this event. This was the only time either of us had ever experienced such an event in our lives and were very glad that we had experienced it together as we didn't expect that anyone else would believe what we'd seen. Dennis Baird <dbaird a itlnet net> Woodward, OK USA - Saturday, October 28, 2006 at 19:13:36 (PDT)

Sept. 30th. 2006, on a cruise from Huatulco Mexico to Costa Rica on Infinity, aprox 2:30-3:00 am in the morning, cruising south, on the shore a huge lightning storm, sheet and fork type, when every so often a huge bright ball would appear and "explode" away. Talked with others on board who also saw this phenomenin, wonder if it was reported on land? annimy <71annimy a myway com> USA - Monday, October 23, 2006 at 23:46:49 (PDT)

well a few instances actually. after work while in high school, me and a few friends all seen a ball of light in the sky maybe a couple hundred feet or so up. this was a large ball. not moving, not the moon, possably ball lightning. the sky was cloudy but no rain otherwise that i remember. we didnt watch it for very long as it was somewhat disturbing for us young kids and quickly made our way to the next field over. it was gone when we returned later. The second instance happend a few years ago now. two friends and I were trespassing while exploring some land near the kalamazoo river in albion michigan. a mild storm came in while we were out. we were actually pretty scared of getting struck by lightning at the time because of all the downed trees and limbs along the river, though the lightning was not bad. we made our way through the woods to a clear cut opening with high wires running down it, walked along the path away from the river and were making our way back through the woods away from the river. just as we were re entering the woods I noticed a ball of light just under the clouds which seemed kinda low. I cant really say how big the light was. it was not as big as the first instance but it was closer. we all looked at it for a few seconds, looked at each other, ran into the woods, and said man that was crazy after stopping. the last instance involved an older friend. while at a party this last 3rd of july at the house/property of the first instance! we were all inside for a while and the older friend came in and described that he'd seen exactly what we seen in the first instance. except it had been raining and storming on and off that day. while talking about it i told my stories and my friends mom mentioned ball lightning. what ever it was. probably ball lightning though. it was scarry none the less. fred <fredlnoakes a netzero com!1/nospampls.:)> albion, mi USA - Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at 14:54:26 (PDT)

On August 7th 2006 at 9:03am, I was laying in my bed on my back. I had just opened my eyes to a ball of light with red veins flowing through it about the size of a basketball, which was over my head by the ceiling. Then there was an explosion and the shelves fell off my wall. I remember screaming and wondering if I was still alive. My stereo, speakers and cordless telephone was blow out. Linda Holloman <ldhollo a aol com> Olathe, KS USA - Sunday, October 15, 2006 at 20:54:04 (PDT)

Early this past summer (June 2006) as I was sat at my computer answering e-mail (and considering shutting down the computer because a storm was brewing)something caught my attention to the left. As I looked toward my front door I saw a cantaloupe-sized orange ball of flame appear about three feet off the ground. It was about 15 feet away. My cats, wide-eyed, were also watching the thing. Just as brain sorted out what I was looking at, the orb pulled in on itself, turned a BRIGHT white, and SNAPPED! The image was much like an old TV tube when turned off. The snap was louder than any electrical arc I've ever heard. My cats -- upstairs and down -- freaked out! The whole thing lasted only about 4-5 seconds. I assumed our house had been hit by lightning, called my husband to let him know, and walked through (and later outside) the house to see if there was any damage. I found none. I forgot about it until I mentioned this episode to a coworker. He said he'd done a report, in high school, on types of lighning and remembered BALL LIGHTNING. The description, he said, sounded exact. I looked it up on the Internet. And, yes, what I saw was definitely ball lighning. We have since found that the corner of our house is suseptible to lighning strikes. My computer has been hit twice. The last -- at the end of September -- rendered it unusable -- even through a surge protector! The "rods" that attract the lightning to our house are two HUGE fir trees, which sit 15 feet from our front porch. Though I am fascinated by this whole electrical light show going on in my house, we are investing in lighning rods! Elizabeth A.H. Goss <bornanenigma a yahoo com> Lancaster , PA USA - Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 08:15:00 (PDT)

On the night of Monday October 2, 2006, we experienced a severe thunderstorm (which was later classified a microburst) in the south suburbs of Chicago. There was severe thunderstorms all day, due to high humid air form the gulf colliding with the cool Canadian air mass. At about 9:00 pm., my two boys told me to look out the second floor window to the west in their bedroom. We observed flashes of green lights, and red lights, up in the western sky. Then we also observed these colors in the eastern sky. I have never seen anything like this! About 9:40pm. we lost power and as I was looking out the southern sky to see if the power was out elsewhere, I witnessed a yellowish flash of light in at my eye level, about the size of a golfball. It scared me, and I ran for cover but when it was done we looked out the window at the church steeple, about four stories off the ground, next door to us on the south side of the building, and there were lights flashing around about one foot off the top of the steeple,in a circular motion, like a siren with lights, of red and green. It circualted the steeple for about 2 minutes. It was very strange, and something I had never seen before. The damage to our area was drastic and many trees were kncked out by this storm. m sequeira <mcs1006 a yahoo com> oak law, il USA - Monday, October 09, 2006 at 16:42:42 (PDT)

Many years ago (around 1970) my two children and I were standing in front of our house talking, along with the child who lived next door. It was a kind of muggy, slightly overcast summer day. There had been no rain, thunder or lightning All of a sudden, there was a huge ball of bluelightning that came through the large elm tree leaves overhead, but did not touch the tree trunk. (In fact, that tree still lives in 2006!) The simultaneous thunder caused me to jump about two feet in the air, a feat I would not have believed possible. There was a light blue flash that obscured everything. I actually could not see anything but bright blue for an instant. The three children ran inside, but I seemed to be rooted to the spot. When the neighbor child ran out of my house to go into her house, that's when I found I could move, and raninside to find that my children were okay, as was I. It was a horrific, frightening experience. Although I did not actually see the ball of lightning (I was facing away from it and the children were looking at me), my children described it vividly, and we looked it up for an explanation of the phenomena. That was the first I ever heard of ball lightning, and I sincerely hope I never experience it again. Penny <PPrairierose a msn com> USA - Monday, October 09, 2006 at 11:41:40 (PDT)

I think I experienced something that could be considered ball lightning. It was the summer of '98 (can't remember the exact month). I was living with my parents at the time. Our house was only 2 floors (main and basement). The steps leading down to the basement were right next to the outer wall of the house. There was a window at the top of the steps that faced the backyard. Anyway, late one night, I was just beginning to doze off in the basement. I remember hearing the faint rumble of thunder, but it was by no means a large storm. Suddenly, it felt like every hair on my body was standing on end. I immediately opened my eyes and could see a bright light coming from the stair case. Slowly, two balls of white/blue light came drifting down the stairs. One was larger than the other, about 4 feet in diameter. The smaller one was around 1 to 2 feet and kept a constant and consistant distance from the larger ball. I rememeber that at this point, my heart was racing a mile a second, but I wasnt really scared. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they just flickered out. the whole incident lasted maybe 15 seconds. When it was over, my hair still felt like it was staticy for a minute or so. Maybe not the most exciting story to tell, but it was pretty strange. I have never seen anything like it again. If anyone has any other possible explanations for what I saw, please feel free to contact me! Michael <MichaelDoCanada a yahooooo.ca> Toronto, ON Canada - Monday, September 18, 2006 at 21:36:32 (PDT)

I WAS 14 or 15 and my mom was out so i took off to meet a couple girls at a nearby redtaurant; the time this story takes place was about 11-12 pm. probably in the summer of 93 or 94. anyway im walking down my street, which was solely residential, being careful to not be seen by police because they would make me go home because it was so late and i was young. so when i saw headlights i would duck out into the woods until the coast was clear. after 15 min i take a right down brooh st which at its end is the restaurant. the road is only about a mile and half. there are no street light s on the raos so its kind of scary as it was.so i keep looking behind me and in front of me for any signs of headlights. i just checkd when all of a sudden the entire street lights up an electric blue color. i say to me self out loud what the <><> because i just checked for cars. then i hear the most eeriest noise i ever heard it was farily faint, i could hear it but nobody else in there houses would. so im exactly in the middle of the rd and i stop walking and just look straight up and from behind me i watch as this electric blue flame ball flies right over my head. this thing was probably 15 ft over my head going right down the middle of the rd and it was going probably 9 mph. the size of the thing was equal to a small car from tip to tail end . i just describe it as a flame ball cause thats what it looked lik it was made out of, it gave of no heat. this thing just kept flying and eventually went out of view becase the street bent. so it either followed th bend too or flew into or over the trees that part i cant remember.. iwas by myself and freaked out i was always scared of aliens and such. i saw someone awake in 1 of the houses and i almost ran in to his house. i ended up sprinting as fast as possible to the end of the street where it met a main rd. iwas just picturing aliens and stuff coming from the woods. i hav nvr been that scared in my life. the part about me not being sure if it followed the street seems weird but the reason for the possibility is it turns out earlier probably 30 min or so my friends older brother and others were following the flame ball in a neighboring town in there car. they said it was following the streets too but they lost it so it ventured off. the thing lookd like a short stubby comet the base( front) was about 6 ft wide and i say 4 or so ft tall and it had a diproportionately stubby tail that was 2 or so ft long total length probly 8 ft. didnt aknowledge me in the least and i feel lucky to have that as a memory but cant even guess as to what it had been. or how it was navigating and what could fit in there if anything because it was so small also the speed was very strange too thanks for reading it felt good to air this and please email me with any questions or similar events j thurston <jetedwards a verizon net> KINGSTON, MA USA - Sunday, September 17, 2006 at 23:56:17 (PDT)

Weds. 8/31/2006 Severe Storm warnings out. Sky darkened, distant thunder, heavy rain had begun straight down. I set a plant off my porch to get rain. As I went back up the step, I heard a terrific lightning crash, looked quickly, saw the big flash 50 - 100 ft in my yard, and coming like spokes of a wheel from it across my yard and many towards my house, and ME I thought I was a goner, balls like fireworks on the forth of july, white, traveling towards me and our house in long lines of balls or clumps of lightning. As my right hand and foot reached for the front door, my left foot outstretched behind me, felt a pain in the big toe, and as I got in the house, I felt the pain increasing, and took off my canvas topped tennis shoe, and my toe was red like blood around the toenail, and it wasn't long until it was swollen and black. I believe it was hit by a ball of lightning, but there is no burn on the shoe or no signs of anything hit on my porch or in the yard. I did not stub my toe or hit my foot on anything. Can you explain this. 5 days later, it is still painful to walk on, swollen, discolored, but not as black. Thank you. Lorayne Pate <rayniemax xyxwv a bellsouth net> Hendersonville, NC USA - Monday, September 04, 2006 at 08:05:57 (PDT)

On Wendnesday August 24th 2006 approx. 1:30am I was getting ready to leave a friends home in Sheridan Indiana on my Motorcycle. It is about a 20 mile ride from his house to mine. At any rate my friend came outside and we talked to each other as I was getting on my cycle and we noticed Summer Heat lightning Northwest of his home. He went back in to check the weather to see if I was going to hit any rain on my ride home and he came back outside and said the storm was about 25 miles to the North and a little West of us and I would be traveling southeast so it was fine. So I started the bike and was getting ready to take off and looked up to the direction of the storm and saw a bright white ball trailing sparks and looking much like an icecream cone with the tail tapering, it was approx. 50-75 feet up and almost directly over us. I saw it for about 3-seconds then it just went out, like it ran out of steam. In the 3-seconds I saw the Ball lightning it only traveled about 100 feet so it wasn't a comet nor did it make a sound. As I saw it I instantly said "Hey look" and I never stopped looking at it, thinking back that my friend would have looked at me and then looked were I was looking but to no avail he didn't even look. The ball didn't seem to light up the ground it was going over probably given it was about the size of a basketball. I know of nothing else around that could explain the white ball and tail. That's it and Thank You for the site as I was researching what I saw. Russ Fleenor 41-years old. Russell Fleenor <sarah640ok a msn com> Fishers, IN USA - Saturday, August 26, 2006 at 01:27:10 (PDT)

Ball Lightning I was about 13 (now 46) when I returned home from school at about 1pm. I was trying to open the 6 feet high door lock to enter inside my house. Facing upwards to open the lachet I saw a luminous ball of light of about size of full moon (but brighter) sailing between clouds lumps. It was dark cloudy summer day and it appeared to me as bright as meteor but much slower and moving parallel to earth on the upper side of the clouds. The rain was about to start and black dark lumps of clouds were separating and mixing due to winds. I saw it for a few seconds then it disappeared in darker clouds. I have never experienced it again but still remember it. Nasrullah Khan <nasrullahk a yahoo com> Dhaunkal, Punjab Pakistan - Sunday, August 20, 2006 at 04:49:16 (PDT)

I set up my camcorder a few weeks back to see if I could capture some lightning because it was really storming that day, and I hadn't looked at it until recently when to my amazement I had captured a Lightning Ball, going along a chain-link fence and then up a telephone pole. If anybody wishes to see this video you can e-mail me at whisper a eot com. You should probably have the DSL or broadband. Although it is only around 2 MB. I'm not sure if anybody's ever captured one on video before so it's quite amazing. Russ Bergstedt <whisper a eot com> Akeley, MN USA - Friday, August 18, 2006 at 19:08:13 (PDT)

When I was around ten, my family lived in Missouri. In the bathroom of our house, the washer and dryer sat near a single small window. The dryer was right next to the window and the washer next to it. During a thunderstorm, ball lighting came through the small window and hit the dryer. There were three; the first one hit then the next two quite close together. It seemed more disk-like than spherical. They rolled like wheels and were the yellow color of a candle flame. The window was closed and they left no mark on the glass or the dryer. I didn't tell anyone about it because I assumed it was a normal thing -- I had read a book in the Little House on the Prairie series where she (the author) mentions it. It wasn't until many years later that I learned it was rare. Here's some location data for where this occurred: X:-10442800m Y:4427700m Lat:37:06:11N (37.1029) Lon:93:48:36W (-93.81) Web Address: wwwmultimap com/map/browse.cgi?lat=37.1029&lon=-93.81&scale=50000&icon=x Tanya Rabourn USA - Friday, August 18, 2006 at 15:55:59 (PDT)

A couple of weeks ago Phoenix suffered under a strong monsoon season storm. I was on my balcony watching it..there was an unbeliveable amount of lightening occouring in one area of the clouds. Lightening was occouring several times a second in this cloud for at least 40 minutes. After 30 minutes of looking at it I saw an orange ball float out of the cloud and travel in a straight line. It persisted for at least 8 seconds and abruptly vanished. I suspect it was ball lightening or some kind of super-heated plasma caused by the extreme electrical activity in the storm cloud. Dan Scottsdale, AZ USA - Friday, August 18, 2006 at 00:39:36 (PDT)

The other night I was laying on my couch under covers and i saw what appeared to be an orange light the size of a basketball hovering slowly along it had what appeared to be spark like steamers kinda like octapus legs I thought I was seeing things so I sat up to see if it would disappear with a more clear view because I thought my eyes must be seeing things. It still was there. It did disappear in a few seconds though.no noise , no burn just vanished.I don't remember the weather that night I don't think it was storming, as my window was open and if it storms I ussualy shut it. Its not the first time I've seen this, thats why i sat up to look I thought maybe its a visionary thing. Only once before. Erica <%calypso-29 a $hotmail com*$> Regina Beach, sk Canada - Wednesday, August 09, 2006 at 23:22:16 (PDT)

I was about 12 years old and shopping downtown in my hometown of Rockville Centre on Long Island, NY. A sudden rainstorm with wind gusts and lightning caused me to duck into the entrance arcade of a drugstore where a elderly black man had already found refuge. In a short time the storm subsided and I moved out near the sidewalk to peek down the street to see if the rain was stopping. What I saw through the drizzle, some hundred feet distant, was a small animated ball of brilliant, bluish light floating a few feet above the ground. It was approaching somewhat erratically at a walking pace right up the middle of the street. I was transfixed just inside the entrance and as it came closer could see details of swirling electric-like currents and sparks that composed the ball. As it was about to come abreast of my position, where I expected it to pass by on its course down the middle of the street, it instead made a deliberate turn directly towards me causing me to back into the arcade. I watched in fear with the black man on one side of the arcade and me on the opposite side separated by no more than eight or ten feet as the ball, about the size of a large cantaloupe, floated just below my eye level right into the middle of the arcade entrance. Without hesitating it passed directly between us and seemed to purposely aim at the center of the plate glass of the metal-framed drugstore door and when it struck there was a deafening blast but only slight shock wave. I had apparently shut my eyes just before it connected so have no memory by which to visually describe the moment of contact but other than being badly shaken there appeared to be no injury to either of us or even any visible damage to the store door. At no time did I feel enveloped by any electric-like sensation but was aware of a soft hissing and crackling sound as the ball passed by, less than 3 feet from my nose. The black guy and I never spoke but just looked dumbly at one another after the event totally mystified and relieved. Ed Fisher <$smalltowns a usa com$> Stuart, FL USA - Sunday, August 06, 2006 at 13:56:04 (PDT)

Re: Ball Lightning. When I was 14 I lived on the shore of Tampa Bay, a notable site for violent thunderstorms. One stormy afternoon in 1934 I walked into our kitchen while lightning was striking all around the area. Suddenly a bright blue globe floated from a wall-hung water heater toward the stove, where it seemed to explode. Over the years I repeated this story to several physicists, but was always told that ball lightning didn't exist. Joseph V. Ridgely <jridge10 a comcast net> Baltimore, MD USA - Saturday, August 05, 2006 at 11:26:48 (PDT)

When my mother was a young girl, probably in the (not her) mid-twenties she was visiting the farm of an aunt and uncle near Lafayette, TN. She was talking on the phone during an electrical storm, one of the old-fashioned jobs with the a box and a cord. I think the reciever was on the cord. Anyway, there was a loud crash as lightning struck the house, or very near it. For some reason or sensation she never recalled mother dropped the handset and jumped back. A ball of light "about so" (indicating something between grapefruit and basketball size) emerged from the handset and drifted into the middle of the room, where it exploded (or anyway dematerialized) with a loud crash, shattering glass objects in the room. Years after mother told this story I visited the farm by myself and heard the identical story from the aunt and uncle. Grayal Farr <grayal a nettally com> Tallahassee, FL USA - Thursday, August 03, 2006 at 16:10:43 (PDT)

When I was about 12, a large lightning storm came at night, and one very large strike woke me up fully. I instantly headed for some water, mostly out of habit. On the way, I looked into my sister's room (she was not there) and saw a floating, glowing, blue ball. Although it must have lasted almost thirty seconds in total, I saw it for only about five to ten. It moved very slowly, almost towards me. It ended with a huge crack, and no marks in the room. I noticed no smell, but I was about 2 meters away from it. I have no doubt this was ball lightning. My sister's room very recently had a roof window added. I am sure it was not a dream, I do not seem to confuse them with reality. Chris DeHaan <xagic a yahoo com> Lucan, ON Canada - Wednesday, August 02, 2006 at 20:53:53 (PDT)

I lived in Brandon Florida in 1997. I was sitting in my backyard with a friend watching a thunderstorm. All of a sudden a brilliant blue ball appeared over the fence. It was the size of a volleyball. The inside was blue but around the whole outside of the orb it was a brillant yellow. It floated from right to left very near the top of the wodden fence, but not directly on it. After a few seconds it just vanished. I asked my friend if he had seen it too but he had missed it by facing me and talking. I guess I was the lucky one that day. It is a sight I won't ever forget. Roxanne Kendall Sylvania, OH USA - Tuesday, August 01, 2006 at 12:01:38 (PDT)

Year 1961 Place Cambelltown near Sydney. Johny and i were just in our teens then and had decided to do some fencing and clearing on Johns parents land at Minto. After a few hours working in the heat the sky suddenly turned stormy and started to rain, so we took shelter in an old greenhouse which was our closest shelter from the rain. A bright ball of light about the size of a football suddenly appeared from no where zipping here and there at incredible speed just like an angry Bee trying to sting us and for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds Johny and me lay flat on the floor trying to keep out of the way of it. It finally ended when lucky for us it seemed to find what it was looking for and went to earth with a bang on a piece of steel which was leaning up against inside wall. All these years i thought that it must have been a lightning strike which didn't go to earth until it found something to earth onto, and after looking at some of the other experiences, Im glad it wasn't us. Terry. Terence Dexter < > Sydney, NSW Australia - Tuesday, August 01, 2006 at 05:47:12 (PDT)

I live in a valley between two mountain ranges, and one summer (AFTER sun had gone over to the West side of the Valley) I and my family saw to the East over the mountains a HUGE "SUN LOOKING" orb, it was bright RED ORANGE and bigger than any sun or moon I had ever seen in my life, and my family hadnt seen any like it either. Now we were all adults of varying ages, some of them old and we all notice the sky alot. No, we're not Kooks! It was NOT a weather balloon or anything like that!! It looked like a SUN, but just way too big, about 3 times the size in the sky over the mtn range. In about 5 mins it was gone. It was lit like fire, like a SUN like I said. Never did find out what it was, and I even called the weathermen locally and they hadnt seen it nor heard of anything like it. Linda Threewit <snap74dragonestat01e a mail com> MT USA - Saturday, July 29, 2006 at 12:43:23 (PDT)

My story happened only half an hour ago. I'm still shaking. I'm a 15 year old girl and here in England we've been having a seriously scortching heatwave recently. Melting the roads and buckling the train tracks. Its now 1.40am but about half an hour to forty minutes ago i went down into my back garden to get some air. I was watching the gigantic lightning storm that had been raging for almost an hour, standing next to the washing line. All of a sudden i saw a giant orangey-blue ball (about the size of a small football) come hurtling up over the houses and back down, striking the washing line literally inches from me. As i said this happened only 30-40 minutes ago so i'm still kinda shocked..but woah it was scary. Levi Russell Coventry, United Kingdom. - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 17:43:40 (PDT)

Hi, so glad to see this site! In the atumn of 1986 I was a manager for company in Kettering, England - I was holding a meeting with my 3 supervisors, when a ball of lightening passes right through the glass of the window,immediately to the side of us, as it did so the glass bowed out, as if it were like a bubble. I stood up and toughed the glass, which looked abolutely normal immediately the ball as passed through it, I touched the window, expecting it to be hot, but it was COLD and there was no visable trace in the glass of anything ever being there. The ball was a about 6 inches in diameter and after pasing through the glass it dropped to the floor and rolled leisurely across the carpet for about 20ft, leaving no mark on the carpet, when it disappeared. I cannot recall any smell or noise from it as it passed by but all the computers and the ACD telephone system failed . We were interviwed by the BBC for a science programme but I was very disappointed that we were not really taken seriously - being asked if we thought it was something supernatural and how frightened we were being of more interest to them, whereas I had hoped to be taken more seriously and offered some explanation by a BBC science'Boff' . Thanks for listening Best wishesto all other 'witnesses' Jane +++++je.jackson a tiscali co uk*********** Jane Elizabeth Jackson <je.jackson a tiscali co uk> Kettering, England - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 10:34:43 (PDT)

My encounter with ball lightning came during the late 1990s. I wish I remember the actual year. I was living in Chicago at the time, right on a fairly busy street. We were having a party... it was evening, and it was lightly raining outside. Suddenly we heard a popping noise. It sounded like fire crackers, or gun shots, and that was our biggest concern. However, I was the ONLY person brave enough to look out the window. Literally coming down the street was a ball of light. It was floating, I'd say about 10-15 ft. off the ground. We were on a raised first floor, and it seemed to go right by us, maybe slightly below. It seemed to actually follow the street. It was making the popping noises! And it just floated down the street. Of course, it was SO fast, by the time I said, "Hey! Look at that!" It had moved down the street and you couldn't see it from the closed windows any further. Of course, when I described it, everyone thought I was crazy. THEN... the next day I was watching Chicago's Channel 9 weather. Tom Skilling, the weather man, said that there had been SEVERAL reports that past evening of lightning balls. AH! That's what I saw! And I wasn't alone. Thank God. Now I didn't look so crazy. :) I probably will never see one again, but I'm happy that I did. Patricia Parra <pat41164 a hotmail com> Streamwood, IL USA - Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 17:28:07 (PDT)

I was playing Bridge with a group of friends in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One bridge table was in the living room by a sliding glass door which was open letting in the breeze smelling of impending rain. I was facing the open glass door when all of a sudden a large ball of sizzling, crackling light zipped into the room over our heads through a closed screen door. The ball of lightening zipped around the room bouncing off the corners of the room until it hit a ceiling mounted stereo speaker at which time it gave a loud pop and disappeared. There was dead silence in the room - everyone was pretty shaken up. Before this incident I was not aware of the Ball Lightning phenomena so when I went home and told my husband I was sure he would think I was nuts. Fortunately, he knew what it was from my description so my sanity was not in question - at least not from that incident. Jean Sleater <gvaldeg2 a cox net> Albuquerque, nm USA - Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 17:58:19 (PDT)

I was on a flight between Hawaiian islands during a very severe tropical storm in 1992. I was seated right beside the wing and was watching out the window when I saw a ball of "fire", whiteish in colour and bit smaller than a soccer ball hit the wing of the plane and bounce away toward the back of the plane in about a 90 degree angle. The plane's wing was seemingly undamaged by this and it did not enter into the metal and dissipate as i thought lightning would. I have always believed this was ball lightning that I witnessed, but did not know much about it at the time. What else could it be? Needless to say, I was a bit worried about my safety during the flight after seeing that. tracy burgfeld USA - Monday, July 17, 2006 at 14:28:12 (PDT)

My name is David and I am 50 years old. In 1962 I was living near Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was visiting my grandparent's farm in Gonzales, Louisiana. At that time they lived in a two room, tin-roofed farmhouse. During a severe lightning storm I had a memory of an unusal round glowing sphere actually enterng the room i was standing in through a window and moving horizontally across the room. It left such a powerful impression on me that many years later as a young adult, I read about "ball" lightning and think that perhaps I witnessed one. It is amazing that there are not more photographs. Dave PS - We sold the property in 2005. David Volpe Bergenfield, NJ USA - Friday, July 14, 2006 at 11:10:00 (PDT)

I have had the opportunity to experience ball lightning twice. My first experience was seeing a ball of light floating across my yard, then drifting off into the sky and disappearing. I had no idea what ball lightning was and thought I was seeing things. The second time I experienced ball lightning was when it hit my home and exploded. I was in my late teens when ball lightning hit the side of my house and I first heard the term "ball lightning" when the firefighters said that was what happened to our home. I was living in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour northeast of Pittsburgh. The explosion (I call it an explosion due to the thunderous boom that shook the entire home) shorted out all the electrical devices in the house as well as all of the vehicle radio's parked around the house. The fireproof insulation in the house caught fire and any metal touching metal within the framing of the home melted. My brothers and I were watching television when the lightning hit the house and we were told if our house would not have been grounded to our well the entire home could have exploded. The television's electrical system was blown out as well. I remember when we went outside after the explosion, there was a large burnt circle outline on the side of our home where the "ball of lightning" hit the house. These were the only two times I experience this phenomena. Jeff Turney <jturney a glendaleaz com> Glendale, AZ USA - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 10:29:12 (PDT)

On Monday, July 10, 2006 I was out for a late evening walk. At just about 11PM, distant cloud lightning began. The storm approached from the West. I took cover under the awning at a nearby convenience store/gas station that was closed for the evening as it began to sprinkle, then rain. The storm approached rapidly, with both Horizontal (cloud-to-cloud) and vertical (Cloud to ground) lightning. Streaks of horizontal lightning up to perhaps ten streaks, wide and far apart, seemingly emanating from a common location occurred several times, lighting up the sky just across the street. It began to rain harder. I resigned myself that this would not be a 5-minute storm pass. After waiting a while in hopes for the rain to stop and the lightning to subside, all the while enjoying the light show, I saw in the distance two balls of light the size of beach balls. Thinking it was not an airplane for it appeared suddenly and was VERY bright white, such as a flash of lightning would be, I watched it and watched it. The ball(s) of lightning never moved direction but did seem to wax and wane (beachball - to-basketball-to- beachball). After about 25 seconds they were gone, and less than 5 seconds later the entire sky was lighted again with more cloud to cloud lightning, revealing that there was no airplane or other airborne object where the lights had been. The rain and lightning continued for another 40 minutes or so with nothing additionally remarkable. This location is 35 miles south of the Great Lake Ontario, where the evening news had shown satellite images of thunderstorms covering the entire lake (North to South - Canada to Upstate NY). However, this set of storms came from the west, from the Finger Lakes Region. This is the first experience of such wide spread and well defined (streaks) of horizontal lightning that I have ever seen, even in experiencing some of the majestic North Carolinian storms. This is also my first sighting of 'ball lightning'. I thought it may have been my imagination, but upon researching the existence of such phenomena, found that under the conditions such as described above that it is not altogether uncommon. johnkmeunier a yahoo com John K. Meunier <johnkmeunier a yahoo com> Liverpool, NY USA - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 at 09:58:56 (PDT)

july we d52007afterthe5lightening and thuunder clap what looked like cloud came through the french window door i did not say nothing to my wife in the opposite chair it passed the tv middle o0f the room2 foot of the floor 2foot by 2foot yellowish thousands of sparkling li9ghts it touched the wifes face who had noticed it it turned sharp left through the open hall door into the hall towards the front door the electric meter cupboard clos by the meter was clicking madley everything in house ok nobody hurt nothinginhouse blown up the storm july wed 2 45pm hartley maghull, uk - Monday, July 10, 2006 at 07:37:02 (PDT)

Well when I was in elementary school. I'm 17 now. It was around christmas time so my family was all at my grandma's house. In Sulphur, Louisiana. My cousins and I were sleeping in the back room all together. And there was a thunderstorm outside.. I remember hearing lots of thunder.. and we were all scared. And all of a sudden you see a flash of lightning right outside our window. And a ball of light.. was in the room. It was floating sideways. It was white. And we all screamed. The ball of light went under the light fixture on that was on the roof and dissapeared. So we saw it for about.. 5 seconds at most. And my grandma ran in the room asking us what was wrong.. We all told her we saw a ball of light and then it disapeared.. She told us we were imagining things. Anna-Marie <lil_star0043 a hotmail com> elmendorf A.F.B, ak USA - Saturday, July 08, 2006 at 02:56:43 (PDT)

SCARED STIFF by DICK GIBSON Have you ever been scared stiff? Or experience a bazaar event, so horrific that you can?t even get your own grandchildren to believe you, much less any other adult? It all began one very dark, stormy afternoon while working at an industrial complex in Akron, Ohio. I had just finished preparing a large airplane tire to be tested on a machine that simulates an airplane runway. The ten foot dynamic wheel was riving up to a 300 mile an hour landing speed. Since this takes some time, I went to a large open door to check on the weather. Just then, I saw multiple strikes of lightning hammering a power sub-station, half a mile away. I watched in disbelief as a bright light seemed to be slowly moving along a power line in the direction of my building. Then I noticed that the light was actually rotating on top of the wire. Quickly looking along it?s route, I could see that if it turned at the next pole, that ball of fire would come toward our sub-station. As it reached that pole, the ball-lightning turned toward me and I froze! Scared stiff! Though I knew I was in danger, my feet would not move. The fear of dying, with no one to tell, forced me to break free and run for my life. As I ran through one door then another door, I was shouting, ABORT! ABORT! The men at the control panel had never heard me holler like that, so they pushed the abort button. When I arrived at the control panel, they asked what was wrong. I said, ?We are going to be struck by lightning!? They looked at me as if I were crazy, but then there was a loud explosion an all the lights went out! The technicians were just about to jam that tire into the spinning wheel. If that would have happened as the power went out, the wheel could have broke loose and there would have been major damage, perhaps, loss of life. We all went to the back of the building to see the damage done to our power. The transformers had exploded and shards of metal were all around where I had been standing just minutes before. Even at the cost of new transformers, both my life and much equipment were saved. Try telling that story to your grandkids! Richard Gibson Witnesses; Ed Lowdermilk Tallmadge Lee Richard L Gibson <dicktracy44278 a yahoo com> Tallmadge , OH USA - Tuesday, July 04, 2006 at 09:23:25 (PDT)

7-3-06 Aloha, When I was about 11 years old my uncle Jim installed a new TV antenna on our rooftop in Yonkers New York. About 3 days after the antenna was installed lightning hit our house and knocked out our television and power. My grandmother went down to the basement and started screaming frantically. She ran back up the stairs and was screaming for me to not go down to the basement. Of course I had to see what was down there and when I got down the stairs I saw a lightning ball bouncing around the basement floor, walls, and ceiling. It was about the size of a beachball and was making a very high voltage static type noise. Quite intimidating and awsome indeed. I have told this story of witnessing of the lightning ball to all my close friends and family and it is something I can never forget. I am thinking possibly my uncle did not ground the antenna on the roof properly and when lightning struck it, the lightning had nowhere to ground out to. Hence we have a lighning ball! Aloha, Tommy Tommy <tommysurfs a excite com> Honolulu, HI USA - Monday, July 03, 2006 at 14:03:45 (PDT)

I just posted and forgot to add this in... (besides it would have bee very long.) Sometime around 1992 or 1993, I was in a car with 3 of my friends. We were driving down Clinton Rd. in Hewitt, NJ. (It's a 9 mile stretch of resivoir and forest mostly.) Anyway, it was night time and 3 of my friends said at the same time, "Did you see that?", "What was that?", ect. They all said it was a tiny blue ball went passed the left side of the car. I hadn't seen it and so believed that they were pulling yet another stunt on me. But, they were all a little 'freaked out' about it. And they even told other people about it and talked about it later. Now I think, perhaps, it was a BL. ??? I don't remember there being a storm at the time; though my memory of the weather is not with me. Keri Cifaretto <stargazr1977 a yahoo com> NJ USA - Monday, June 19, 2006 at 17:40:50 (PDT)

I didn't realize up until now the BL was such a phenom! Now I must tell of my sighting. I just called to ask my mother if she remembered it and she gave me the same description of it as I remembered... I thought I was about 7, but she said she thinks I was about 9. So, it was sometime between 1984 & 86. My family was on my father's boat, on Greenwood Lake (NY/NJ). We were on the NY end when very dark clouds were moving in. My Dad decided that we would try to beat it and head to where we docked - on the NJ end. We were a little more than half way across the lake when the storm overtook us. We made it to the dock and I remember running up the hill. Lightning struck something nearby. The sound was so loud. I fell; probably out of fear. I felt the hair on my arms and neck stand up and felt a tingly sensation...again maybe just from fear. But, my Mom says she remembers the sensation as well. My father's friend reached down to grab my hand and as I looked up, diagonal from me, probably 30' in the air was a hovering ball! It was about basketball size, kind of clear yet foggish with a blue and pinkish-purple color kind of move within it. I only saw it for a second or two before runnning again. So I don't know how long it lasted or if it moved around at all. I am pretty sure I remember it being near a pole, so maybe that is also where the lightning had struck just before. Keri Cifaretto <stargazr1977 a yahoo com> NJ USA - Monday, June 19, 2006 at 17:32:11 (PDT)

I was living in Manly, Australia a beach suburb of Sydney. There was a huge summer electrical storm, and I think it must have been either December of 1995 or January of 1996. I had three roommates, and we were all at the window watching the impressive lightning strikes outside. We had a pretty open view from our apartment towards the center of Sydney to the south. At one point instead of normal lightning in streaks, there was what appeared to me to be balls of fire or bombs falling from the sky on to the city. What differs here from other peoples' accounts of the ball lightning was that I seem to remeber multiple balls of fire over a period of time of maybe five minutes. They appeared to be rolling down out of the sky and really looked golden orange like fire. They didn't seem to go horizontally near the ground as other people described. They more fell in a vertical or diagonal fashion. I thought they were in the distance towards the city, but now I wonder if they were actually just the next block over, since there were some power lines there. I would say they looked to be about basketball sized. My roommates and I all agreed that it looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie but we were more amazed and curious than scared. But this was ten years ago. I would be curious to talk to those roommates and find out if they remember it the same way as I do. Sabrina Dechert <smdechert a hotmail com> MN USA - Sunday, June 18, 2006 at 08:36:08 (PDT)

My Girlfriend and I are driving along a well traveled Highway east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.(Highway 16) We were on our way to visit in a city 3 hours east of us. We are about a hour into the trip, it was approximately 1:00 Pm. It was a sunny, clear, summer, afternoon. I was driving along chatting away when the Girlfriend asked what those lines were in the field off to the right of us, about 1/2 mile ahead. I slowed down a bit as we got closer we estimated literally 100's of these lines, what looked like mini twisters all through the field! they looked about 6-10 inches in diameter, they reached what looked like 150-200 feet in the air from the ground. They appeared to be stationary! There was many cars passing us now and no one seemed to notice or care that these were there! We have been down that highway many times since have not saw this again.. can any one explain??? Dean <deangingell1968 a hotmail com> Edmonton, Canada - Thursday, June 15, 2006 at 20:21:42 (PDT)

My Grandfather often tells me of the incident he and his parents experienced with ball lightning. When I was younger I often thought that he was hallucinating or that this was some tall tale meant to draw attention. However, I believe it to be genuine since it left quite an impression on him. To the point that he gets kind of nervous just talking about it. He says one night at home (Indiana) he heard loud clattering coming from the kitchen. He says it woke up his whole family. Now these were the days (30s-40s) when people used to leave windows and doors open at night in the summer; especially in the mid-west. His father rushed to through the house and eventually everyone crept around the corner thinking it might be a burglar. The kitchen was illuminated by something. He says that while his mother was holding his hand a glowing ball rushed in front of them hitting the walls. After about 15 seconds it disappeared. I never really thought much about ball lightning, but I can say for sure that I'm a believer. Jason C. Valrico, FL USA - Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 21:10:27 (PDT)

I wanted to tell you of my experience with what I am not yet sure of to this day. Maybe it was some form of Ball Lightening. My husband (now my ex) and I were driving through Oklahoma on the way back from visiting my family in Iowa. We were on I-35 and we're just south of Oklahoma City. It was about 1:00 to 2:00a.m. My husband was driving and I was sort of laying down in the passenger seat next to him trying to rest. I was not asleep because I don't sleep well while traveling. Suddenly I become aware that there is some sort of a bright light somewhere because it made me open my eyes and peer over the door to look outside. I was so shocked I couldn't say anything for a about 10 seconds. I was looking at a huge ball of white light that was about 100 feet away from the car but just a few feet above the ground. It was at least 15' high. When I got my wits about me I started saying my husband's name (Joe) to get his attention, but he wouldn't answer. The whole inside of the car was so bright. I looked right at him and said, "Joe" at least 3 times with no response. I didn't want to scream out because I was afraid that "this object" would go away and I didn't want it to. I was totally in awe. The last time I yelled his name fairly loud and then sat up. Then this huge ball of white light just disappeared. I had watched it for about 3 minutes. Not wanting to take my eyes off of it except to get Joe's attention. When the ball disappeared, Joe responded with "What?" I said, "Did you see that big ball of light?" He said, "What light?" I said, "Don't tell me you didn't see it. You and the whole inside of the car was lit up. You had to have seen it!!" He said I was seeing things and must have been dreaming. I went on to describe it and what had taken place. I knew darn well and good that I had not been dreaming and what I had saw was real. For the life of me I couldn't understand why he hadn't seen or had not even looked at what I was looking at. How could he not have noticed that at one minute the inside of the car was dark and the next it was all lit up? He started teasing me that it was like Jimmy Stewart seeing the invisible rabbit named Harvey. You have no idea how frustrating that was. I have shared this with someone else who had written in with a similar experience that described the very same object. I have to preface with I am not some sort of a wacko. I am a highly educated woman, former VP of a large DP company, President of the Women's Guild, Mother of 2 and Grandmother of 3 & 1/2. I haven't had any more sightings like that but I will never forget that strange object and that experience for as long as I live. Thanks. Diane Rhome, Texas loveable1704 a yahoo com Diane Fletcher <loveable1704 a yahoo com> Rhome, TX USA - Monday, June 05, 2006 at 10:26:27 (PDT)

This is about ball lightning, and goes back to 1959, the first time I "heard" it. I was just married and moved in with my husband in a very old brownstone building. We lived on the top floor, and could go out on the roof from a window. About 6-8 times each year we would hear this loud cracking discharge--like a large fire cracker. I don't remember if it was storming at any of those times. It was so loud it made our hearts pound. Once when I was home alone during the day, I was leaving one room, stepping into our large open-space living room, when just to the right of me, about 3 feet off the floor and about 6 inches from me, there was this ball of white flourescent light, that gave the same loud crack. It shot straight across the room (around 20 feet) toward a wall, and disappeared in about a second. There was no smell or marks on the wall. Although we heard it a number of times after that I never saw it again. The sound always seemed to come from the same large room, at anytime of the day or night. In order to have come from the outside window, it would have to travel across a room and out of a door just to the right of the door I came out of. There was a 12 inch panel between the two doors, and when I actually saw the light, it seemed to have come from the panel, not the room. There was no electrical outlet nearby. We moved out after two years, but at that time, I had never heard of ball lightening. Actually, I was starting to get a little bit superstitious. I believe now, that it was a form of ball lightening. Shirley A. Dyer - Sunday, June 04, 2006 at 23:20:18 (PDT)

I had the weirdest thing happen yesterday. It was very erie looking outside, gloomy. We were expecting a thunderstorm. We only got a brief shower. I went outside for a bit to see what was going on and to get some air. It was about 8:13 pm. I was looking around at the sky. Not to much to look at considering the clouds were very dark. I happen to look up and this tiny light, that was bright white, was in the sky, about 200 feet above my shops roof. It was growing in size and intensity. I had no idea what was going one. I just stared at it. It got to a fairly large size, being that it was up in the sky, it looked the size of a grapefruit. Then it got super bright, very white. Then...........BANG. It sounded like a shotgun blast. And just then a streamer went to the top of the shops roof. Well I went back in and a CNC machine is fried. It is 8:25 pm. I got in and an alarm was trigered. The CNC will not run anymore. Was that Ball Lighning???????? It was so bizzar. It is something I wont forget. Thanks, and have a great day. Neil <BLIR2287 a mpvpsl com> NY USA - Friday, June 02, 2006 at 05:37:57 (PDT)

I was rocking my son (approx.18 years ago), in our living room. A friend of ours was sitting on the couch to my left. It was storming outside and suddenly a small rotating ball of light appeared to slide down the edge of the window frame coming to rest on the sill. The time frame is fuzzy but I believe it rotated on the sill for about2 seconds the disapated with as extremely loud report. Everyone in the room jumped and my son added crying to the mix. I have never seen anything like before or since. Tim Mi USA - Thursday, June 01, 2006 at 14:48:31 (PDT)

My father and I were outside last night at around 1930 CST 05-30-06 watching a developing storm. There was minimal lightning accompanied by typical thunder. We were looking towards the east and northeast primarily while discussing weather-related memories we had from 20 yrs ago when all of a sudden a bright light flashed right above us at roughly the same spot we were both looking at which was then almost exactly northeast. It was if someone turned on a very bright and fairly focused light then turned it off. There was no lateral, horizontal, or vertical life to this burst as far as he and I could see. Total time "on" was less than a quarter of a second. There was no following thunder. We agreed that neither one of us had ever seen that before. I spoke with an acquaintance this afternoon who is well-versed in meteorology. This acquaintance mentioned ball lightning so here I am telling my experience and intrigued again in what has always intrigued me ... the marvel of nature. By the way, I have an appreciable understanding of these sorts of things due to my trade but this was a first of this sort. Misc. observations: I would estimate the distance from where we were standing to the position of the burst to be between 300-700 feet. The temperature had been in the upper 80's all day but had rapidly cooled off with the incoming storm and at time of occurrence the air temperature was probably in the low 70's. It was not raining nor had it rained yet. The sky was nearly completely overcast nearly an hour before this occurred. I had been about 25 miles to the east at around 1640 CST that afternoon and was caught in an intense but short downpour accompanied by significant hail. J. Young <jgy71 a bellsouth net> AL USA - Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at 21:54:51 (PDT)

My event of seeing ball lighting happened near the end on 2005. I was sitting at my computer and the weather was changing, you could tell there was going to be a thunderstorm. There?s a window right next to my computer so when I saw something out of the corner of my eye my head turned. I had only seen it for 2 seconds but ill never forget it. It was a ball that was white on the outside and blue on the inside. It was about 40 cm across and was about 4 meters up in the air. And it sounded like it was fizzing, like one of those fizzer sticks that light up, those ones you put on birthday cakes. It was moving pretty fast and was gone. Something ill never forget. Adam Adam Formosa <neon26 a msn com a a a > Wollongong, NSW Australia - Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at 21:54:19 (PDT)

My husband and I were walking along a lake in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan one evening about 20 years ago. We both saw a glowing ball somewhat larger than a softball, smaller than a soccer ball, making no noise. The ball came toward us at about chest height, hovered for a few seconds and then moved away from us quickly -- without noise. D K Dean <dorothykd a hotmail.takeout commercial> USA - Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at 16:08:50 (PDT)

I am a 34 year retired flight attendant from delta airlines. Years ago I saw a 30 inch by 30 inch ball of multicolored lightening start at the front of the aircraft and roll, float, all the way down the aisle and straight through me as I sat on the center back jumpseat. I was telling my family and they said that was very rare. There is no doubt that this occurred. I was not hurt in any way. I cant remember if we were in an electrical storm or not. Since I read that some doubt hese things I just thought I would share this experience. grace naze <nazeflyer a aol com> USA - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 22:00:18 (PDT)

We were experiencing a pretty severe lightening storm in our community this past weekend. My six-year-old daughter had two school friends over, and they were playing in our living room. We heard an extraordinarily loud clap of thunder immediately followed by a very loud "pop" which seemed to come from inside the house. In fact, it seemed to have occurred in mid air in the area where the three girls were playing. I quickly discounted what I thought I heard because it did not seem plausible, and started to search for problems at electrical outlets, etc. I also turned on our outside light to see if there had been a lightning strike outside. My husband and I were discussing the event later; we were very confused by what had happened. Our lights, cable, internet had all flickered, but all came back on in just a split second (our modem went offline, however). There was no damage anywhere, and no smells often associated with surges and overheating in home circuitry. Somewhat reluctantly, my husband told me that he could swear he saw a streak of light come right through our large picture window in the living room and end in a tennis ball size ball of light right over our coffee table (just about three feet directly in front of our fireplace.) The ball disappeared with the loud popping noise. We had to wait until today to get online due to our malfunctioning modem, but I was amazed to discover ball lightning in my search to understand what we experienced. It seems that no two phenomena are exactly alike, but our experience does seem very similar to others. We are convinced this happened in our home, and we feel quite fortunate that none of the children were hurt (although they were certainly very terrified for a moment). Denise Renfro <deniserenfro AT gmail com> Lumberton, NC USA - Sunday, May 28, 2006 at 15:08:58 (PDT)

In the summer of 1979, while flying south, at 3-5,000 feet, in our Cessna 172, over a reporting tower called ONTARIO, just north of the Los Angeles area, I noticed a ball of lightening about 2 1/2 to 3 feet in diameter, come up to the co-pilot (my) side of our plane, about 3 or 4 feet away from my window, and sit there for about 30 seconds. I yelled at my husband, who was piloting the plane, to contact the tower and ask if they had seen the same thing on their radar, but the lightening ball must have cut out the frequency, as he could not get through. It was a very clear day, and after the ball of lightening ?disappeared, I begged my husband to report it, once we made a connection again, but he wouldn't. I think he thought they would think we were crazy. Of course I thought it was a UFO. It was not until several years later, when my class was reading a story about Barney and Betty Smith, that I told my class "my" UFO story. It was then that a very bright boy suggested it was NOT a UFO, but was probably an instance of St. Elmo's fire, which it may well have been. Still, today, the memory of the instance is as real as if it were yesterday. Janet WHITE <jwhite a telus net711> Burnaby, BC Canada - Saturday, May 27, 2006 at 12:26:05 (PDT)

I was a 15 year old by at home just after a storm when I witnessed a blue ball about 8 inches across floated through the wall, hovered over the rug for a few seconds, then exploded with a flash of light after almost touching the rug. No damage was done to the wall, curtain or rug. frank <frankmaniaci a comcast net> Brooklyn, NY USA - Friday, May 26, 2006 at 17:01:45 (PDT)

I have had two up-close encounters with ball lightning & have seen it at a distance on many occasions. During the summer of 1970 I was still in school and living with my parents. They were building an addition to the house. The main window of the addition faced west with smaller windows in the north and south walls, aligned with one another. During construction I would often sit out in the new room watching thunderstorms roll in from the west. One afternoon as a storm was approaching I heard this odd buzzing sound. A few seconds later a basket-ball sized ball of lightning flew in through the north-facing window, bounced on the sub-flooring several times, then disappeared out the south window. I was surprised by the event & didn't think to go to the window to see what happened to it. Later that same summer I was walking down the gravel drive towards the mailbox, eager to get the mail before the approaching storm broke. The same odd buzzing sound appeared behind me & I felt a light nudge on my back between the shoulder blades. I turned around to see a volley-ball sized ball of lightning bouncing across the grass. It had apparently come up behind me & bounced off my back. It kept bouncing across the yard until it hit the field fencing where there was a quick flash of light & a loud "pop" & it disappeared. Many, many times I have seen ball lightning off in the distance, usually preceding a thunderstorm. Quite a few of those instances have involved lightning zipping along a few meters above high-tension cross-country electrical distribution lines. The last sighting I recall was during a thunderstorm the summer of 2004 as we were driving up state road 37 between Bloomington and Martinsville in southern Indiana. Brian Davis <kg9du.delete.this a arrl net> Indianapolis, IN USA - Friday, May 26, 2006 at 07:24:17 (PDT)

When I was about 12 years old, I was setting outside with my family on the covered porch after a severe thunderstorm. I was about 10:00pm during a humid summer night while we were looking across the street in near the creek. We seen about three glowing balls probably the size of grape fruits floating about 3 feet off of the ground very slowly. They were glowing white, slightly blue and moved at a walking space for about 10 feet and vanished. They could almost pass as people walking around with flash lights...minus the people. At the time I had no idea what it was until now. So eight years later I finally find out I wasn't imagining things. Shane Wilson Crestwood, Ky USA - Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 18:58:23 (PDT)

I am 34 years of age and was walking home 1 month ago after a long shift at work. It was about 11.30pm when a ball of lightning/plasma ? about the size of a car, flew from the sky at about a 45% angle to the ground and towards me at great speed! It shot right past my head yet didnt radiate any heat towards me, nor much sound exept for some slight crackling. It shot straight back up into the sky at the same angle it came down and dispersed into nothing. The very next day the sky outside was dark and felt like it does before a thunder storm. I was standing in my kitchen making a cup of tea when a bolt of lightning came through the window. It came through the window as if it was in slow motion straight infront of my face to the middle of the room and went right back out following the same path as if in rewind. The lightning made the same crackling noise the ball of lightning did and left the same way without leaving a trace. There was no damage to the window but I can tel you that the hair on my kneck was standing on end. I did feel rather vitalised after the events but I put that down to adrenaline. Ive never seen anything like it before and cant imagine that I would have experienced both fenomena in my life time. I feel very lucky to have experienced it. Kenneth Carson <<<<>>>> USA - Sunday, May 21, 2006 at 19:59:04 (PDT)

Blue ovoid ball lightening. Very bright. Size unknown - no frame of reference. Was about the size of my thumb viewed at arms length. Wider horizontally than it was tall. Moving horizontally through an observable 30deg arc over 3-4 seconds, in westerly direction, then faded out. Associated high winds in same direction. Clouds were moving faster, also appeared to be lit from the light below. Aprox 1-2am Mid December 2004? I do not recall the exact date, but recall the observation and conditions quite clearly. It would be quite difficult to forget it if you saw it! Ceilings overcast and low, just obscuring some nearby tall treetops, raining heavily. No audible noise above wind and rain. Did not have appearance of aviation navigation or landing lights - was much too blue. Location 2 miles WNW of KPAE airport. Ronan Murphy <rronanmurphy a hotmail com> Mukilteo, WA USA - Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 15:39:45 (PDT)

One Sunday afternoon in Moore County, Tennessee (Jack Daniel country) in the summer of 1979 my 5 year old son and I were playing with a soccer ball when an afternoon rain storm occurred. We played in the rain until thunder and lightning started. While my son went inside the house I watched the lightning play from my garage. This was when I saw a lightning strike near my barn which is about a 100 yards or so from my position in the garage. Now the garage has a concrete floor that is reinforced with metal wire to keep it from cracking and my electrical box was located about 10 feet from my position. I am soaking wet and barefooted watching this event. After the lightning strike I saw a ball of fire that was more in the shape of a log that is about 30 inches in diameter and about three foot long. This ball of fire immediately began moving toward my house about 6 inches off the ground. It moved no faster that one would walk at a regular pace. I decided it was following an electrical wire that had been installed underground to service the barn. There was a single wire electric fence about 50 yards from the barn and I thought the fire would go away when it intersected the fence line. It continued on under the fence and when it arrived at my concrete patio it disappeared. Shortly after the fire had disappeared I experienced an electrical charge that began in my feet and started traveling up my legs at much the same rate the fire had been moving. The electrical charge was very modest but when it got past my knees I ran into the house and the event was over. I detected no noise or smell with this phenomenon. Roland Segroves roland a segrovesrealty com Roland Segroves <roland a segrovesrealty com> Tullahoma, TN USA - Friday, May 12, 2006 at 12:56:07 (PDT)

I was visiting family in Mason City, Illinois one summer back in, I believe, 1997, or 1998. My girlfriend and I were driving back up to Chicago, along I-55. We'd been driving for about 30 minutes or so when we saw the strangest thing. There was a gigantic black ball in the sky. It was surrounded by clouds. Now, I've read on here of people seeing similar phenomena, but I got the impression that they were driving under cloud cover (or under their dark circles). The black ball that we saw was in the distance. I hate to quote Star Wars here, but it was as if the Death Star (for those unfamiliar... giant, round, space station) had come into the atmosphere, but instead of grey and with obvious markings, was solid black. It looked like a solid, black orb. It did not look like the clouds were being sucked into it. I did not hear of any reports that day. I have performed searches on the internet to no avail. Anybody that I've told this story to in the past gets that 'uh huh' 'suuurreee' attitude. And of course, we didn't have a camera on us. And I no longer speak to the girl. Hopefully, someone can explain to me what once in a lifetime weather event I witnessed. Thanks for the space to rattle on. Lazarus <talisman275 a yahoo com> Chicago, IL USA - Tuesday, May 09, 2006 at 14:23:57 (PDT)

I was 7 years old and standing by the screen door in my kitchen. It was raining real hard and the lightning was loud and close by. I remember wanting to go out the screen door into my garage in order to watch the storm but my mom told me not so I just watched from the scree door. I had been standing ther just a few seconds when a ball of lightning floated along my driveway. It was a bright red and yellow swirling mix of colors that looked slightly bigger than a basketball. I know the ball was floating about 5 feet high because it passed by my basket ball goal. It moved very slowly and after about 5 seconds it vanished. When i tried telling my mom and dad; I don't think they exactly believed me so I didn't tell another soul until the 7th grade when my english class read an article about balls of lightning. Well nobody believed my story then either. I'm now in the 11th grade and recently my friend and I were discussing the wierdest things to ever happen to us. Mine of coarse was witnessing the ball of lightning. And now that I'm older, I decided to research this phenomena and thanks to this website and others I don't feel so crazy about what I saw and neither does my friend. Don Vierling <donnyvierling05 a sbcglobal net> USA - Friday, May 05, 2006 at 23:02:15 (PDT)

In about 1995 I was at my brother's house in Austin, Texas to have dinner. A HUGE thunderstorm was brewing so I went into his living room to watch. From inside the house, I saw a volleyball-sized ball of lightning roll horizonatlly from the side of his house to the front, where it struck a tree. About 5 or 10 minutes later we all went outside (it was totally clear!) to survey the damage. One limb had been mangled. Other limbs were scorched and smoking! No one but me saw this and I'm sure they didn't believe me! Connie Webb <conwebbonweb a aol com> Austin, TX USA - Thursday, April 20, 2006 at 14:47:11 (PDT)

My dad and i lived in a crapy two bedroom trailer on the far south side of janesville near the airport. with feilds all around us and the trailer park only had one road, we could see the sky pretty clearly with the exception of some tall trees. The late evening being very quite and peacefull we both sat out on the porch talking before bed. When my dad says "peanut you have got to check this out." To my amazement the sky repeatedly lit up with steaks of lightening. Not regular verticul strikes but horazontal stikes that seem to sore across the sky and have a bouncing motion to them. So we hop into the "old nova" and drive out to the highway in front of the trailer court to get a better view. After more then two hours of us chating about what seam to be balls bouncing across the sky, we called it a night, feeling as though nothing else would happen although it seemed to strange to be nothing. Now looking back at it we both wish we had taken pics or had owned a video camera because it was just as exciting or actually more exciting then the fire works at fourth of july. So the next day at school (7th grade)i asked my science teacher if he too seen the neat lightening show and he says yeah ball lightening, pretty cool huh. And proceaded to tell the whole class how people dont even think it is real because it is rarely seen. He also asked if anyone else had seen it with the response of no, he came and told me he was glad that at least someone seen it and i may never see it again. belinda demrow janesville, wi USA - Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 22:11:38 (PDT)

This report of ball lightning happened at 5:15 in the afternoon on easter sunday. A storm was just finishing passing through and the lightning had subsided. my mom and i thought it would be safe to take our dog out on a walk. the dog ran about 10 feet in front of us and my mom and i were looking around and suddenly we saw a glowing orb about three feet in front of us. It was the size of two of my fists together and it was about four feet from the ground. At first my mom looked at me thinking i had thrown a firework at the dog. Meanwhile i was staring at the ball lightning, jaw dropped knowing what it was, due to a physics class i had in high school. We heard a crackling sound, and it dissipated as if it were a flash grenade. The ball lasted in the air just a few seconds 5-6 if i had to guess. After that it was a bight flash, almost a sudden thud against my chest and the loudest boom of lighting i have ever heard. I've been telling everyone i know that i have seen ball lighting and have described this incidents many a time. Our dog was afraid to go outside the next day, and still is afraid to go out the front door. Daniel patterson <danielpattyson a hotmail com> roscoe, IL USA - Monday, April 17, 2006 at 17:17:28 (PDT)

we were in russia in our summer house during a vicious thunderstorm and all of the windows on our porch were open and we were out there drinking tea. all of a sudden a disk that looked like coiled golden tinsel floated in through the window. it hung in the air and it felt like it was looking at all of us. my aunt said "don't move". and because it was so scary nobody questioned her. after about 10 seconds, it floated right back out of the window and disappeared. apparently ball lightning is attracted to motion so my aunt saved us all, if you ever see ball lightning, dont talk or move, just freeze, any vibrations can attract it to you and seriously hurt or kill you. watch out! lana USA - Monday, April 17, 2006 at 07:35:50 (PDT)

This just happened to me today, April 16, 2006, Easter Day. We were having a very bad thunderstorm, rain coming down very very hard, then suddenly it started to hail, pounding our car with 1/4 to 1/2 inch hail balls. I pulled over into a parking lot, as visibility was bad. So we waited there until it slowed enough to see. When the hail had begun to slow, but not stop, I looked out toward the west, and saw what appeared to be a lightning strike, but it was different. The area around it glowed green, and in the middle was a glowing ball that seemed to shake a bit, in that area, and it glowed above and below the ball, then it went away. In a few minutes, in almost the same area, there was another one, just like the first - like a big green ball. It was very creepy. Then just after the 2 balls disappeared, the hail began to slow more then stop, and we noticed a very acrid smell and alot of smoke coming from the direction that the ball lightning had been. I was really creeped out, I just turned around and went home! I assume that the lightning struck something but I was too afraid to go look and see!! Martia <Mbookworm1968 a yahoo com$$> Joliet, IL USA - Sunday, April 16, 2006 at 12:35:20 (PDT)

Well last night (would have been morning of april 8th) I saw something strange that i assume must have been ball lightinging. I was spending the night at my boyfriend's house and since it was a warm night the windows were down. I couldn't sleep because the couch was horribly uncomfortable, and around 4:00am a storm started. It was mostly wind and rain. I didn't hear much in the way of thunder or see many flashes of lightening, perhaps a little but nothing compared to many of our GA storms. At any rate, my boyfriend woke up, so I finally sat up and watched some of the storm. Just out side of the window a strange green light appeared with absolutely no sound. It seemed like some one turning on a dimmer switch as it slowly gained in intesity. It was BRIGHT green, much like a traffic signal, and it was so bright i was sure my boyfriend had seen it as he went to the back of the house. He said he saw nothing. I assume it was lightening or some electrical phenomena because the streetlights seemed to have gone out for about a minute or two, then came back on. There are power lines outside of the house, which ball lightening could have traveled or hovered on, and the source of the light seemed to be about 10-20 feet above the window. It was so strange mostly because of the colour, silence and duration of the light (10 seconds). Another factor might be that the house is at the top highest point in Lawrenceville. It occured right before 5am because i heard the church clock on the square chime the hour as i tried to get settled back down to sleep. ~HALLEY Halley <miscy_hellion a hotmail com> Lawrenceville, GA USA - Saturday, April 08, 2006 at 07:16:02 (PDT)

i was traveling from las vegas to st paul in a small jet......i think a falcon 20 and we were flying between two storms racing bad weather to get to st paul. i was seated in a jump seat between the two pilots. when the window developed st elmos fire...... it played on the inside of the windscreen for a couple of minutes. I asked the pilots what it was and they explained it was st elmos fire..... i was amazed, they remarked that it was very aggesive st elmos fire and no sooner than they said that the sparks joined together into a perfect ball right at my face level straight ahead of me at this point i dont know if i moved or the ball made an arcing motion past my left shoulder and dissapeared through the door to which my jump seat was attached. both pilots were shook up by what had happened and tried to down play what had happened. max newroth <muskokamax a lycos combbbbb> new york, ny USA - Thursday, April 06, 2006 at 21:18:47 (PDT)

This happened about 9pm March 31, 2006. While standing in my dinette and looking out the window during a thunder storm, I saw about an 8 ft blinding white ball of lightning. It came down about 35 yds away in my neighbor's yard on their hillside. There was a violent explosion and then it disappeared. I jumped and screamed. I waited for a tree to fall but nothing happened. The next day when I went to look for where it hit, there was about an 8ft blackened area in the grass. It wasn't remarkable--sort of like a grass fire area. I love to watch lightning and have never seen anything. I live right next to Table Rock in AR with MO across the lake. M Pillar Holiday Island, AR USA - Wednesday, April 05, 2006 at 15:43:58 (PDT)

I had never heard of "ball lightning" before, and I only did after coming into contact with it! In 1997, I was in my bedroom during a storm. At one point a huge ligthning/thunder crashed outside, and the flash of light caught my attention. When I looked up, what can only be described as a fuzzy ball of electricity, (about the size of a basketball) floated slowly to the middle of my room. When it got to the middle of the room near my television it popped sparkled and fizzled out!!! It did not damage to my television thought. I know it REALLY did happen because my mother was in the other room saw the sparklers as it popped out. I tried telling people at work about my experience, and they thought I was on drugs or something; then I started looking on the internet and realized it was a real thing. I knew I wasn't crazy! Oh, another way I would discribe it to someone is it looks like those novelty glass balls that when you touch them it cause sparks to gravitate to your fingers, that is what it looks like. Chris Cincinnati, Ohio USA - Sunday, April 02, 2006 at 16:12:36 (PDT)

I am 15 and 1/2 years old. It was November of 2003, I think, when I had an experience with what I now think to have been ball lightning, but I do not know. It lasted for at least 10 minutes, if not longer, and as far as I can tell, ball lightning sightings last only a minute or so. There was a strange, warm electricity in the air that night, kind of like the feeling you get around laundry straight from the dryer clinging together. The night was still and hot, which was odd, because it was November, and there was not even a trace of thunder or lightning or rain. Usually we have crickets chirping all through the night, but they weren't chirping that night. There was no noise whatsoever-- very eerie, uneasy feeling. It was around 10:00 or 11:00 at night and I couldn't fall asleep. I wasn't really paying attention to anything, but my eyes were wide open. Suddenly I sensed a presence of something (like the feeling you get when someone's right behind you) to my left and I saw a golden light with a diameter no larger than that of a quarter. It floated in midair. I have a loft bed, so it's about four or so feet above the ground. I was sitting up, and it floated at about my eye level. It was about three feet away from me, but it kept floating back and forth, back and forth in a sort of figure 8 pattern, gradually getting closer to me. It made no noise. This went on for about 10 minutes, and then it just suddenly disappeared. I have a computer in my room, but it was off. I had no lights or electronics on that I can recall. We do have a telephone wire just outside my window. Just about half a year ago, in September or October, I think, of 2005, my sister had an experience with something that was, perhaps, also ball lightning. I don't know at what exact time it was, but it was sometime in the night, probably around 11 or 12. The night was still, and there was no thunder or lightning or rain. She said the ball was about three feet in diameter, and was bright yellow in color. Sparks shot out of it, and there was a crackling sound. This went on for about half a minute, and then it disappeared. After about 10 minutes or so, it came back, and this time it lasted about a minute and a half. What was so funny about it was my sister's dog sleeps in her room, right in the middle of the floor. It hovered only three or so inches above his head, and he didn't wake up-- he was snoring through the entire thing! Does anyone have an idea about what these things were? I'd appreciate it if anyone could tell me. Marie Long Beach, CA USA - Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 19:25:53 (PST)

At approx. 9:10 tonight, 3.25.06, I went on my 2nd floor balcony to get some fresh air before retiring. There were some clear areas of sky between numerous clouds. I suddenly noticed multiple balls of gray to greenish light moving quickly in counterclockwise rotation within a horizontal cloud that was beginning to disperse.~~Because I'd seen similar phenomena several years previously while alone (expect w/2 brief incredulous witnesses), I called my downstairs neighbor, who confirmed that she also was seeing them, but tried to attribute them to several things that didn't make any sense, so I quickly hung up & continued monitoring them periodically for another 40 minutes. At one point they all met in the middle, dispersed & returned to the middle, & kept this rhythm for a while. When I last checked near 10pm, they'd disappeared entirely, along w/the particular row of clouds they were in proximity to. None of the clouds to the east of them were affected. I was looking north, and the formations were at approximately 11 o'clock in the sky.~~In my first sighting of similar sight in 2000, the balls of light were in pastel colors and seemed to move in a less coherent pattern.~~Another time the balls of light were larger & whitish. Magi YOUNGTOWN, AZ USA - Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 21:30:32 (PST)

Sorry, I forgot one strange lightning incident. In 1977 I had just gotten married and lived in the Navy Point Section of Pensacola. I was (still am) a Ham Radio operator and had a nice CB radio as well. My wife was also a CB operator, so I had to have the best antenna in the area to keep her happy. I had a 1/4 wave ground plane on top of 40 feet of pipe, and the whole thing sat on top of the flat carport roof. While I was at work one day we had some really bad T-storms move through the area. The wife called me at work, all excited, and told me she thought that the antenna had been hit by lightning and there was some strange things going on in the house. I told the boss and he said I could go check it out since business was slow. When I got home the wife was going crazy, she would not go back into the house. As I went through the front door I smelled ozone and burnt electronics. I went into the kitchen to check the fuse box (the wife had followed me inside) and saw sparks dancing around the metal fuse box. I then went into the radio room and saw smoke coming from behind my CB radio. As I got closer to the radio, I noticed a blue glow on the bottom window sill, like St Elmo's fire. No noise, just a strange blue mist centered around where the antenna wire came through the window sill. I backed out of the radio room and went back into the kitchen where the wife had decided to make a pot of coffee using an old silver percolator type pot. When she went to plug it in, a spark jumped from the wall socket to the prongs on the pot cord, about a foot. The wife ran out of the house screaming! I thought maybe she had grounded out the static charge in the house from the lightning, so I went back into the radio room. The blue mist was gone, so I carefully tugged at the antenna wire. It came out of the back of the radio with no effort and was burned in half near the connector. I unplugged the radio and picked it up. It was warm like it had been on for a while. I heard some noise like a loose screw was inside, so I took off the cover and saw that almost all of the electronic components had literally been blown off the board, that was what I heard rattling around inside the case. Fortunately I had the sense to ground everything, I think that is why the house didn't burn down! Jack Lewis <jblewis007 a cox net %^&%^&%^> Springfield, VA USA - Monday, March 20, 2006 at 21:59:21 (PST)

Both of my ball lightning occurances took place in Pensacola Florida. The first was in 1969, at a friends house where a separate garage was connected to the main house by an enclosed walkway. Leaving the house to go to the garage you had to go down a short flight of steps (3-4) across the enclosed walkway of which one side was glass, and into the garage. My friend and I were in the kitchen, heading toward the garage when there was a bright flash from a lightning strike that was very close. The thunder actually cracked some of the glass in the windows of the walkway. There was an wraught-iron hand rail down the steps and it started to ring like it had been hit with a hammer. As it was ringing, a ball of very bright light about the size of a basketball formed at the top of the railing. it moved slowly down the railing and floated off about waist level down the walkway. It got about half way to the garage and made a 90 degree left turn and struck the glass in the window where it made a loud nose like a firecraker, the dissapeared. The next time I saw ball lightining was driving down Mobile highway jsut north of Pensacola in the Belview area. As we crossed a small bridge over a creek, I saw two balls drop out of the bottom of a cloud. They looked like they were made od tinfoil and both of them trailed sparks. They went into the tree line next to the road as we passed. A few days later, I went back to where I saw them go into the tree line nad found a small slask pine tree that had exploded about eight feet from the ground. Pine trees are very sappy and moist, and I have seen them before after they have been hit by lightning. They look like trees that have been blown off by artillery during a war. Jack Lewis <jblewis007 a cox net &*&*&*&*&> Springfield, VA USA - Monday, March 20, 2006 at 21:21:32 (PST)

I was walking from my uncle's house to my nana's house at night and I was with my daddy. All of a sudden, I felt a little heat and saw a light from down below. I looked down and I saw what looked like a hula-hoop of light around me and my daddy, two separate circles. They were connected with a perfect line, about three feet long, and were bright yellow. I also heard a buzzing sound. It lasted about twenty seconds. My daddy saw it, too. He thought it had something to do with the heat in our bodies, like a heat lightening. Peter Drackett <peterdrackett000000000000 a yahoo com> Winter Park, FL USA - Saturday, March 18, 2006 at 18:44:40 (PST)

I was walking on Main Street downtown at around 1pm. It was raining and all of a sudden I saw a ball of light that was intense yellow/white in the center and electric blue around the edges, a bit larger than a basket ball. It was in front of me about 8 feet and about 6 feet off the ground. There was an incredibly loud crack and it disappeared. Lightning had also struck two trees a bit further along to where I was going as well as down a side street from where I was. I feel lucky to be alive! Anne Brattleboro, VT USA - Monday, March 13, 2006 at 19:30:42 (PST)

Sometime in the late spring of 1963my mother and I sat at the kitchen table during a thunderstorm. As we talked we heard lightning strike very close. We looked out the window and noticed that it had struck one of the neighbors large pine trees. Something made us look toward the kitchen door and we saw a reddish-orange ball of fire about the size of a volleyball enter through the screen on the door. It then made a 90 degree turn and appeared to travel directly towards me. I moved the chair back out of the direction of travel with such force that I broke the cabinet door when I hit it. The ball bounced off the window glass, moved past my mother on her side of the table,(not as close as it was to me), turned 90 degrees and left the house through the same screen that it had entered. The whole experience lasted no more than 3 or 4 seconds. Upon inspection of the screen we found no physical damage to it. I was 13 years old when this happened. No one believed us when we told them. I did not know what it was until I saw a program on lightning on the Science channel. Now I know that I experienced something most people will never experience. Terry Jackson Dubuque, Ia USA - Wednesday, March 08, 2006 at 15:52:25 (PST)

My mother was a very loving,rational and religious person.If she had one fault,it was her irrational fear of lightning storms.She would hide in closets until the storms past.She would literally developm"goose bumps" when there was a loud crack of thunder.One day,I asked her why she was so afraid of a storm,and she told me of her experience with ball lightning:She was brushing her hair during a storm when a ball of lightning drifted through one window,past my mom, and out another window.She was never the same afterwards.She became more religious and became eerily psychic for the rest of her life.This happened in 1941. My mother died in 1986. mj lechman <maclech a aol com> yorktown, va USA - Sunday, March 05, 2006 at 19:21:08 (PST)

it was sometime in about august 2001 in barton city michigan some time after darka frind and i were sitting in a house durring a large thunder storm i was in a back bedroom while holding a lighter as so to see which had gave the room an orange glow, when the lighter got hot and went out the room was still lit up but this time it was glowing blue. so i looked out the window and noticed a large circle of blue and white plasma floating still in the yard about three feet above the ground.it had a diameter of probably about twelve to fourteen inches. it had two streamers coming off it which were probably about four to six inches long. i had stared at it for about two seconds until it turned into a large flash of bright light immeadiatly followed by a house shaking thunder.at this time i went out to the kitchen where my frind was and inside the house there were three foot long beams of blue and white plasma coming out of the walls.there were two different beams each apearing about two minutes apart the first one come out of a closed door in the hallway and went into the wall on the otherside only visable for about five seconds then disapeared causing the lights to go out for a second and then come back on as this would happen you would hear a noise like somebody had flicked a lightbulb, there was one more plasma beam that followed, it had went from the wall to the celing in the corner of the kitchen and disapeared with the same effect. josh wnuk <knashman a hotmail com> barton city, mi USA - Sunday, March 05, 2006 at 07:27:29 (PST)

Ball lightning - When I was a young boy (probably 4 or 5) I was in the living room watching TV one evening. My sibs were already asleep on the floor, my Dad asleep in his chair. It was dark outside. I don't remember what the weather was at the time. I saw a glowing ball of light emerge frome the TV, and slowly move away from the set and toward me. (I think it actually emerged from the screen, then floated down nearer to the carpet, but I'm not sure anymore.) It was t most a few inches above the carpet, not touching it, and maintained a constant height above the carpet as it approached. It made no noise, and I don't remember any smell or any other sensation besides visual. Though as round as a ball, it was not quite of uniform appearance. The "edge" appeared a bit ragged, sort of like wispy fog moving over the surface. It had variations in intensity across its face, and these areas moved or shifted. So it appeared "alive" - like a living ball of light. The Northern Lights is the only other thing I've seen since that has that sort of shifting appearance. The room was lit mainly by the TV set, so the room was rather dim; the ball wasn't really all that bright - clearly visible, the brightest thing in the room, but certainly not hard to stare at at all, a subdued sort of light. I don't think the light was a particularly warm sort of light either (i.e., not warm like light from an incandescent bulb). The ball was less wide than the TV screen - 12" wide at the most, I'd say. I backed away, crab-like, from it as it approached, but I wasn't scared exactly, more wary and fascinated. I didn't take my eyes off it. It seemed to me that it rolled slowly as it approached, but that could have been illusion caused by the "shifting" appearance. It was less than 10' from the TV when with a pop it exploded/disintigrated. The whole experience certainly lasted less than one minute. I told my dad and my sibs. My dad didn't contradict my story. (He was an electrician; perhaps he knew something about ball lightning., or perhaps he was humoring me.) It was many years later that I first heard that there was this thing called ball lightning, which was a satisfying discovery - I KNEW I had seen it! Gary Reynolds <llama AT mountain net> Edmond, WV United States - Thursday, March 02, 2006 at 21:57:39 (PST)

When I was very young, between 6 and 8 I think, we lived in a farm house on a hill about 4 miles South of Sidney Illinois. We were watching TV one evening during a storm. This was late 50's or 60. Of course we had an antenna on a mast. During the storm there was a loud clap of thunder. Suddenly a ball of light/fire appeared behind the TV, which was in a corner. It "rolled" across the south wall of the room and disappeared behind a sofa. I'd guess it was about 18" in diameter. But it's really hard to say for sure since we were all sitting there petrified as this thing rolled across the room. It left no visible signs of damage. Dale Sinder Urbana, IL USA - Wednesday, March 01, 2006 at 19:17:01 (PST)

Approximately 25 years ago I was watching a thunderstorm from my bedroom window. It was dark, no rain, I was about 14 y/o at the time. I saw directly across from my window, about 60 yds away, a bright 'ball' of light appear. I can't remember any sound associated with its appearance though my window was closed. It hung in the air unmoving for maybe 1-2 seconds before it flashed away east in a straight line. I remember telling my parents of the sight and being quite in awe of the experience. It wasn't until a year or so later that I first heard of the phenomenon of ball lightning that I then realised what exactly I had seen that night. Kevin Edwards <kev_e335 a hatmail cam> Dunfermline, Fife Scotland - Monday, February 27, 2006 at 15:36:30 (PST)

This happened to me at about age 10 now 66. We lived on a farm out from Conyers ga. There was a severe thunderstorm happening at the time.i was on the front porch and it got so bad i turned to go inside .Just before i got to the door a ball of orange fire the size of a basketball came thru the screen door.I tried to tell my family but they would not belive me.After several weeks the screen crumbeled and fell out,Then i had belivers. ball lightining belivers.The hole was the same size as a basketball. George johnson <brick_96 a hotmail com> live oak, fl USA - Monday, February 27, 2006 at 14:53:42 (PST)

Around July of 2002, I was sitting at the large picture window at my parents house, watching the thunderstorm. They live on a large hill, near the south end of town. I heard a loud booming noise, which was accompanied by a large flash. I assumed it was lightening hitting something that was out of my line of sight. About 2 seconds after this large noise, I saw a light blue, almost bright white, ball, maybe the size of a soccer ball, travel down the street, about a foot or so above the ground, bounce past my house, and then abruptly fizzle away. Of course, being the curious teen that I was, I ran out to investigate. The pavement felt slightly warmer than usual. There was a sense of static electricity in the air as well - the hairs on my arms were standing straight up. Besides my eyewitness, you may never have realized that a glowing ball of light just traveled down my street. L Ridgefield, CT USA - Friday, February 24, 2006 at 05:31:51 (PST)

One night in July or August of 1977, I was working at a gas station in Fort Washington, Maryland as a particularly intense lightning storm broke out. It was a typical summer storm, high heat and high humidity clashing with a very cold front that moved in with abrupt violence. Unlike most storms I've been in, the front was directly overhead when the storm broke out, and the lightning was crashing down very near by. I was scared to leave the shelter of the canopy of the station because the lightning was extremely intense,and many strikes were within a half mile of me. As I stood there watching the storm, lightning struck directly across the road from me, perhaps fifty or so feet away. It was the usual flash and a very loud bang, but out of the lightning strike floated a brilliant white ball. I'd read about ball lightning, and surmised what it was, so i was very excited to actually see what was thought to be a rare phenomena. The ball, perhaps between a large grapefruit and a soccer ball in size drifted very slowly in a wavering path for about twenty-five feet, never more than five feet off the ground. After no more than five or six seconds, the ball abruptly exploded with a bang that was far louder than the original lightning strike. It also produced a physical shock wave which I could feel. I've always hoped to see ball lightning again, but I haven't been that lucky. Dean Perry <dperry11 a charterdotnet> Victorville, Ca USA - Thursday, February 23, 2006 at 22:09:48 (PST)

Back in Jan 23, 2000 I posted here, I found my post and glad to see it still online. " I was just 6 years old,in 1977 and lived in Colorado Springs CO. During a lightning storm, I was out walking around looking at the lightning as it had just started to sprinkle. As I looked up, there it was. A very bright, shiny, perfect ball of lightning! It was approximatly Basketball size and was moving to the left. It did not make any noise that I remember. It seemed about 50 or so feet off the ground. It travelled about 4-5 seconds and dissapeared. When it did, I heard a loud bang and ran inside!!! I'd seen ball lightning!" Jim Mahlon Cronk <mahlon1 a gmail com> Tucson, AZ USA - Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 21:41:43 (PST)

In August, 1993, the height of thunderstorm activity in New Brunswick Canada, my sister, Diane, was washing dishes in our log cabin. It was late afternoon and the air was heavy, though there was no storm yet. She heard and felt a disturbance in the air around her in the cabin and watched as a blue ball about eight inches in diameter, came in through an open window in the main room, entered the kitchen where she was, and made an almost perfect right angle to exit through the open kitchen door. She describes an "ozone" smell and says that every hair on her body was perpendicular to her skin. I make this report as a third party because my sister does not have access to a computer. I believe her. She has no previous knowledge of, nor experience with, what I believe must have been "ball lightening". Jane Hook Winnipeg, Manitoba previously of New River Beach, New Brunswick, Canada Jane Hook <janehook a shaw ca> Winnipeg, MB Canada - Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 18:45:12 (PST)

BALL LIGHTNING This is a very old sighting, but reading here I realise it is an absolute classic. In the early 1970's I managed a mid-size factory in Nottingham, England. The summer of 73 was very hot, and one day one of my workers,Lizzie, a jolly lady in her sixties complained to me about the heat. She always wore slacks, and I asked her why she didn't try wearing a skirt in the hot weather. She told me that she never did, because her legs were badly scarred by burns. She told me the following tale, which I wrote down soon afterwards. "When I was a little girl we lived in the Meadows." (This was a working-class district with many row houses seperated by tiny courtyards.) I was home with my little brother, my dad was away fighting(1914-18 war) and my mum was at her sister's house round the corner. There was a sudden summer thunderstorm, heavy run and loud thunder. Suddenly there was a huge flash and a bang, as if lightning had struck right outside our house. The front door (they were never locked in those days) flew open, and a ball of fire came into the room. It was orangey, about the size of a tennis ball, and sizzled, like frying bacon. My brother and I watched as it moved slowly into the room, I could see his hair was standing on end, and I am sure mine was. The ball came right close to me, and then started to drift towards the Kitchner stove. IAn old make of iron cooking stove) When it got close to the stove, it suddenly flew into the fire and went bang, blowing the hot coals over my legs. I ended up spending Christmas in hospital." I knew Lizzie well, and am absolutely certain this tale was true. alan. Alan <lubetkin1934 a yah %%% hoo co uk> London, UK - Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 09:39:44 (PST)

I am nearly 54 years old now. This event occurred many years ago, when I was about eight or nine years old, to my best recollection. We were living at the time in the small coal-mining community of Carpentertown, Pennsylvania, located approximately 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. I was home at the time with my older brother, Joseph (nicknamed "Sonny"), and our eldest sister, Corinne. My other three elder sisters, and parents, were not home at the time. As I recall, they were out shopping in the nearby town of Mount Pleasant. It was on a Saturday, and I was happily enjoying "Summer Break" from grade school, playing outside in our large backyard. On this particular day, it was quite hot earlier in the day--probably in the mid-eighties Fahrenheit--and very muggy due to the high humidity. But by late afternoon, around three o'clock or so, the sky had already clouded over heavily with tall, billowing clouds, and a gusty wind began to blow. The outside temperature dropped appreciably with the sun now completely hidden behind the clouds, and the gusty wind made it feel quite chilly as I played in my short-sleeve white t-shirt, trousers, and tennis shoes. Happily wrapped up in my playing (bouncing a rubber gumball by myself against the side of the house), storm clouds in the meantime had begun to gather on the horizon toward the rolling hills southwest of our home, and slowly drifted overhead. After a while, I began to occasionally hear thunder in the same direction, toward the distant southwest, but chose to ignore it, for the time being. When the thunder started to grow noticeably louder, I would periodically bother to look in the direction it seemed to be coming from--seeing flashes of lightning beneath the clouds some two to three miles distant--but then just go back to my incessant ball bouncing and catching. As minutes passed, the frequency of the lightning and resultant thunder increased even more so, to about three or four flashes and rumbles every thirty seconds or thereabouts. It was around this time that Corinne had become concerned for my safety, and came outside looking for me. Finding me out back, behind the house, she told me to stop playing with the ball and come inside. I was stubborn and reluctant to quit playing, so I remembered just telling her, "Okay. In a minute." She didn't look happy, and quickly went back inside. After she'd voiced her initial concern, I took a moment to look in the direction of the storm, and could see that it was gathering momentum and getting even closer. Several more minutes passed since Corinne had first come outside to get me, and I continued playing with the ball as if it were no big deal at all. Then, when a particularly bright flash of lightning and loud, solitary crack of thunder had occurred, once again, Corinne came stomping outside to the rear of the house, yelling for me to "stop playing and bring my ball inside." But once again, to her total frustration, I just nonchalantly replied, "In a minute, I said." She stood there at the corner of the house, hands on her hips, obviously ticked off, and glaring at me. Finally, she shook her head and stalked off, followed by a "slam" of the front door as she went inside for the second time. I was being a little bull-headed "snot," and went on bouncing the gumball against the house until, for whatever reason, I just stopped momentarily and turned around to see that a thick, dark veil of rain was quickly bearing down on our house from the main direction of the storm. The heavy rainshaft was probably a quarter mile away (or likely less)when I finally stopped playing with the ball and walked back into the house. I remember not being in any particularly big hurry about it though. Nevertheless, I knew that if I didn't get my butt back inside, then soon afterward, I'd definitely be getting soaked to the gills, and even run the risk of being struck by the now very frequent and much closer lightning. Once inside, Corinne scolded me soundly for staying outside for so long with the approaching storm, but then she cooled off a bit. She and Sonny then got out a deck of playing cards, and they both asked me if I cared to join them. I did join in, but if anything, it was just to keep myself amused until the storm had passed and I could, once again, go outside to play. As we got "into" the game seated at the spartan table of our small kitchen, the sky outside kept growing darker, finally to the point whereby it was too just dark to comfortably see the cards in our hands by using the outside light coming through the two kitchen windows. Corinne got up from her chair, pulling downward once on the short, metal chain dangling down from the single, exposed, incandescent light bulb suspended just above the table. Meanwhile, outside, rain started pelting sharply against the kitchen windows, driven by strong, gusty winds. I remember seeing the tree tops swaying heavily outside the windows from where I was seated; leaves thrashing wildly. The nearby lightning outside was now occurring every ten seconds or less, and the cracking, rumbling vibration of the thunder was even more intense and easily felt throughout the house. Sonny had commented that this meant the lightning was now occurring VERY close by. Several times, the electricity inside our home flickered completely off, then back on again. I remember how worried the look was on Corinne's face, and Sonny and I weren't exactly calling it a "picnic" either. After about twenty minutes or so of the thunderstorm's fury, the worst of it seemed to have passed by. With its passing, the rain and wind also noticeably subsided, and the sky even grew a bit brighter, but still not quite enough yet to allow us to turn off the light bulb. We still needed it to be able to comfortably see the cards in our hands. We all three were feeling more relaxed by now as the card game progressed, even having a few laughs. Moments later, I looked up from the cards in my hand because I'd noticed out of the corner of my eye that Sonny had taken on a kind of suddenly-rigid posture. Looking at his face, he was transfixed, staring wide-eyed at the doorway behind my back--a doorway that led into a spare room of the house. From where Sonny sat, he was in a chair to my right; Corinne was seated opposite me, at the far end of the table. In response to his intense stare looking beyond me, I quickly spun my head around to try and see what the heck he was gawking at. As I did, looking behind and above me, in the doorway that was just four feet to my rear, I saw positioned right near the top of the opened doorway--but floating in mid-air, just inches from the top of the door frame--a very bright, goldish-orange ball of "light" with sparks wildly shooting out of it in all directions. It was making a sort of low "hissing" sound, and as I recall, was just about the approximate size of an average softball. The glowing, sparking "sphere" was immobile in its position, and the bright, pure-white sparks emanating from it were shooting outward in all directions; the tiny sparks burning out almost immediately just inches from its core. The best way I can describe what these sparks looked like is to say that they looked very much like what one would see from the harmless "sparklers" that we kids used light and play with during the Fourth of July. My description here, of course, has taken me much longer to describe it than the actual duration of the incident itself. Because just a few seconds after I started staring at it over my shoulder, too scared to say anything (as was the case with Sonny as well), Corinne let out a hellish scream, apparently having just noticed the glowing and hissing of it herself, the reason she'd looked up from her cards. Her scream raised the hair on the back of my neck, but before I could recover from that, there followed one hell of a loud "BOOM!" as the glowing ball exploded, disintegrating and completely disappearing right before our eyes. The explosion sounded like a very loud firecracker, echoing throughout the entire house, and loud enough that our ears had a ringing in them for a several minutes afterward. None of us at the time knew what it was. We got our of our chairs afterward to check and make sure that no errant sparks were still burning somewhere nearby. There were none. I even remembering feeling the top of my head to make sure that no sparks had landed in my hair since I was the closest one to it. The distance from this odd, freakish, explosive phenomenon to the top of my head was no more than just five or six feet away. When our parents arrived home about an hour later, we described the whole thing to them, but neither of them knew exactly what had occurred. Giving our best collective description, Dad surmised that it must have been just some kind of strange "static electricity" build-up within the house, reaching a peak charge during the passing of the electrical storm. It wasn't until I was 17, and started to fly airplanes and study weather phenomena, that I'd finally discovered what we three kids had actually witnessed that one scary day inside our house. We were three of the very few people to have ever seen: BALL LIGHTNING. I will NEVER forget it for as long as I live. That occurred about 45 or 46 years ago, but I can still see its vividly-bright image burning in my mind, and hear its loud bang. Thank you for letting me share this information with you. I have only mentioned it briefly over the years to a few other fellow pilots. (Capt. Jerry Lesko, ATP, 23,000+ hours) Gerald T. Lesko Palmer, AK USA - Monday, February 20, 2006 at 12:10:28 (PST)

I think I may have experienced Ball Lighting this morning, Friday, February 17, 2006. It had rained over night and was in the process of clearing. All I noticed was damp roads and partly cloudy skies. The event happened at approximately 8:05 AM EST. I was driving my daughter to school on a four lane highway when all of a sudden a bright ball of electric spark and flash appeared on my passenger side lower windshield. The ball was about the size of a basketball. The ball seemed to roll down the passenger side of the van making a crackling and hissing sound. I asked my daughter what she saw. She was sitting in the rear of the van and had not been watching the road but the noise had demanded her attention. She saw the flash ball roll down the passenger side of the van. The time frame was approximately 5 to 10 seconds. I told her we must have been hit by ligntening although I heard no thunder or saw no lightening in the area. After it was over I told my daughter that in my 47 years of life I had never seen anything like it. My daughter reported that she had a wierd headache. I experinced tingling in my feet and arms. We both experienced a smell that we equated to burning plastic. I still feel a little edgy/nervous 6 hours later. The van did not experience any electrical problems and upon inspection I could not find any damage whatsoever. I had never heard of ball ligntening until I searched the internet to try and understand what happend to me this morning. If my daughter had not witnessed this event with me I would have questioned what my brain saw. Dawn Kistner <ivme2c a bellsouth net> Jefferson City, TN USA - Friday, February 17, 2006 at 11:52:34 (PST)

I was only 5 or 6 years old at the time, so the year must have been 1948 to maybe as late as 1950. It was either late July or early August of that year. I was living in a very small town in Southeast Missouri called Benton. Benton sits right on the edge of a ridge of land called Crowley's Ridge which travels from the Mississippi River East of Benton way down into central Arkansas. This feature can easily be seen on satelite photos. The time of day was perhaps 7:00 pm to maybe 7:30 pm. The sun was in the process of setting but with daylight savings time, it was still not quite twilight. I heard a swishing sound and looked into the sky. Floating along at perhaps 30 mph and traveling from Southeast to Northwest was a ball of fire. I estimate the ball to have been perhaps 300 to 400 ft. in the air, and perhaps between 24 inches and 36 inches in diameter. The ball seemed to be on fire and burning several different colors. It scared the heck out of me and I ran across the street to talk to an old man sitting in front of his store/filling station about it. He had seen it also, and dismissed as perhaps something the US Air Force was working on. It was always a question in my mind until about 1987 when I saw an article written by a man in the USGS (United States Geological Service) regarding ball lightning. In the article he explained how this phenomena has been frequently sighted in connection with fault lines and possible impending earthquakes. Benton, Missouri is just about 40 miles North of New Madrid, MO where one of the worst earthquakes in US History occurred and where the New Madrid fault gets its name. I don't recall an earthquake shortly following that sighting, however it is possible we had one undetected or because of my youth, I just don't remember it. I am convinced today that what I saw that day was ball lightning, and it was somehow associated with the fault zone of the New Madrid fault and the ball lightning was following the ridge line of Crowley's ridge that day so long ago. I do know that it was definitely not my imagination and was an event I will forever remember in great detail. Today I can pinpoint within 10 ft. of where I was standing when I witnessed this event. Gary Swinger <gsswinger a fortunehitech net> Bartlett, TN USA - Wednesday, February 15, 2006 at 13:27:00 (PST)

It was just a couple of years ago, in Huntington Beach, CA. I was living in Costa Mesa at the time, and had been in Huntington beach with a friend of mine at a barbecue. We were on the way back to Costa Mesa, driving on Beach Blvd. toward the coast, where I was going to turn on Adams. We were in my truck, and it was before dark, maybe 4:30 or 5:00. It was a nice summer day, not raining at all or even cloudy. (There was no lightening going on). I was having a conversation with my friend, listening to music, and driving, when out of nowhere we BOTH saw this flash of light to our left, and I looked out my driver's side window to see a large, white ball of light that looked as though it was hovering about 3-4 feet off the ground. It was incredibly bright, blinding white light, but I could make out the shape of a ball as it's source, at it was the size of a beach ball. I don't remember seeing it move, it just flashed, and was gone. At the same time as the flash, there was an unbelievably loud cracking sound, almost like a whip lash. We both saw it and heard the sound, as we asked each other immediately, "Did you see that!" and "what the hell was it?" We also both felt heat, especially myself, as I was on the driver's side, and enough heat came into the cab through the few inches of open windown to heat up my face. I was stunned for a moment, but I was driving and had to keep control of the car. We both wondered if anyone else saw it, but no one seemed to stop or do anything unusual. Derek North Hollywood, CA USA - Sunday, February 12, 2006 at 11:04:44 (PST)

Yesterday, 2/04/06, I believe i encounted "ball lightning". Although I am not quite entirely sure if that is so since I had never even heard of "ball lightning" untill yesterday when someone suggested that is what I saw. I was drivinf home when I noticed a hot pink ball in the sky. Whithin five seconds I saw it bolt across the sky with some horizontal lightning it seemed. After the flash I almost ran into a ditch because I was so surprised. Does this characterize any other "ball lightning' reports? Ryan Harrisburg, IL USA - Saturday, February 04, 2006 at 12:26:24 (PST)

WHEN I WAS 5 MY MOTHER WITH HER BEST FRIEND AND 2 OF HER KIDS PLUS MEWENT TO A PARADE IN VINITA, OKLA. MY MOTHER AND HER FRIEND WERE QUITE ANXIOUS ABOUT GOING TO THE LOCA(SANITARIUM) FOR THE INSANE IN THAT TOWN. WE WENT AFTER THE PARADE AND DINNER. WE PARKED UNDER A SUPPOSED HAUNTED STREET LIGHT IN THE FRONT PARKING OF THE SANOTORIUM. WE SAT QUITE A LONG TIME WITHOUT OCCURENCE. I THINK MY MOTHER AND HER FRIEND WERE CRANING TO LOOK AT THIS LIGHT WE WERE PARKED UNDER. FINALLY HER SON ASKED WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? THEY REPLIED WITH WAITING ON THE SPOOK LIGHT TO COME DOWN. SO AS KIDS WERE QUITE AFTER THAT. HOPING WE COULD GO HOME SOON. MUCH TO OUR SUPRISE MY MOTHER WHISPERED I THINK IT'S MOVING TOWARD US. I LOOKED UP AND SURE ENOUGH THE ESSENCE OF THE LIGHT WAS DECENDING CLOSER TO THE CAR. I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES, THE REAL LIGHT REMAINED ON THE POLE BUT STILL IT WAS COMING DOWN CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE CAR. IT ENTERED ON THE DRIVER SIDE, HOVERED IN FRONT OF THE DRIVER(MARY) AND THEN IT FLOATED TO MY MOM AND IT STAYED BY HER FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE A LONG TIME. THEN IT FLOATED TO THE BACK SEAT, NEAR ONE OF THE 2 BOYS. IT GLANCED RIGHT BY THE SECOND BOY AND GOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, MUCH LONGER THAN ON MY MOTHER UNTIL I BECAME SO FRIGHTENED I SAID "MOM I'M SCARED." AND IT FLEW BACK OUT AND UP TO THE LIGHT ON TOP OF THE POLE. MARY EVENTUALLY STARTED THE CAR AND AS WE DROVE AWAY WE KIDS ASKED HOW AND WHY DID THIS HAPPEN. OUR MOTHER'S EXPLAINED IT'S THE VINITA SPOOKLIGHT, SEVERAL YEARS AGO A MAN'S WIFE WAS IN HERE AND HE WANTED HER TO COME HOME. THE WIFE TOLD HIM NO AND HE SUPPOSEDLY AXED HER TO DEATH UNDER THAT VERY STREETLIGHT. TRUE STORY. SQUEEZYJEEZY <SQUEEZYJEEZY a YAHOO com> ST.ROBERT, MO USA - Thursday, February 02, 2006 at 22:36:30 (PST)

Once, several years ago, we had a really bad storm in my hometown (enough to blow out several electrical appliances in the house). My family stayed in the living room with the lights off, both because we wanted to watch the storm and because we didn't want to risk blowing electrical appliances. On the windowsill, something appeared that looked like somebody shining a light onto the glass (it was years and years ago, so my memory isn't totally accurate). However, we live in a wooded area, and that window is rather high up, so the only way artificial light could shine on it is if somebody were standing outside with a flashlight. It was too perfect to be from headlights, since those would have been obstructed by the trees. We kind of forgot about it for several years, and it came up in my mind. I talked to my mom about it to see what she remembered (I assumed that it was somebody shining a light on the window). She said that we had all come to the consensus that night that it was ball lightning. I know that we saw something odd since my mom remembers seeing it (and since we didn't talk about it for years). I'm not saying it was ball lightning, I'm not saying it wasn't either. The truth is, I don't know what it was. Brian Worcester, MA USA - Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 13:58:06 (PST)

I have witnessed Ball Lightning on two ocasions. They were both at my farm in Monroe County Kentucky about 1977. I was in the kitchen reading a book. My wife was also in the kitche puttering, as was her custom. There was a sputtering sound and a ball of greenish blue sputtered out of an electrical outlet nearby. The ball was 6 or 7 inches in diameter. It made a beeline to the opposite wall and exploded as it hit the wall. Exploded is an excessive word it just deteriorated into a shower of sparks. It was quickly followed by another. Then silence. This happened twice during the five years I lived there it started and finished so fast there was no time to be afraid or react in anyway. I felt nothing and smelled nothing, the lights did not dim. Up until that time I never heard of Ball Lightning. I would note that the house had two large Maple Trees in front. They had damaged tops and frequently during thunderstorms lightning would LEAVE the tops of these trees and go skyward. The area had intense lightning storms that would frequently leave blackened streaks in otherwise green pastures. One storm was so violent that it woke the neighbors for miles around at three A.M. I went outside and could witness NEVER ending lightning in a 360 degree arc on all horizons. It was very dramatic and fearsome. I should say that the farm was on a river peninsula about 600 yards wide by 1/2 mile long and was the highest point in several miles. I have related these events to a very few people and post it here in the hope that it may be of interest to those studying these things. I have no opinions other than the area seemed to be electricall active during storms. In fact several people lost their lives while hanging tobacco in nearby barns. One time it was 4 members of one family. Ball lightning may therefore be somewhat dependant on similar factors as natural lightning. Jim Key Alexandria, Va. USA - Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 12:38:06 (PST)

I've been reading latelely that the mainstream meteorological consensus is tha tball lightning really exists only in specific labaratory conditions. I don't know about "mainstream meteorological consensus," but I for one know that ball lightning is real. I had a scary close up experience with it when I was 16 years old; the memories are vivid, and it was very, very real. It was a hot, muggy summer evening in rural Westfield River valley of western Massachusetts. My dad was working n night job and my sister, brother and I were home with our mother. A severe storm was approaching from the northwest, and my mother shut all of the windows in the house except for the ones on the east side of the living room. I remember the strong, cool, breeze that came in those windows as the wind and lightning picked up. My mother was sewing, she had a pattern and fabric layed out on the living room floor and the breeze blew it up against a wall. The lightning got ferocious, seemingly one continuous volley of lighitning and thunder. My mother screamed suddenly, and we kids looked up to see a glowing ball float through the open window. It was about the size of a basketball and was round, but did not have a definite shape. It was continuously changing and moving inside that roughly shperical form. The sound it made was even scarier than the startling sight of it; it hissed and "popped." And it was a triple-sensory treat because it smelled weird too. A smell that later in life I came to associate with an ozonic, electrical burning smell. We were all terrified; we had no frame of reference at all for what we were seeing. We had never heard of 'ball lightning' or seen anything like this. We watched as this ball of electricity very, very slowly floated about three feet above the floor, in a straight line across the living room. One thing that was weird that it was not floating in the direction that the breeze was blowing, it was moving independent of the air currents. It then down the short hallway from the living room into the kitchen. We peeked around the corner to watch it. Slowly, slowly it crossed the kitchen, and reached the wall opposite where it came in the window. When it came in contact with the wall there was a brilliant flash of light that momentarily blinded us followed by the loudest 'explosion' I've ever heard in my life. It hurt our ears it was so loud. It shattered glasses in the kitchen cupboard and knocked things to the floor. The electrical, burned smell became extremely strong. The whole family was completely terrified and screaming at that point; we had no idea what was happening. In a minute we realized that whatever it was was over, and when we could see clearly again we realized that the wall paper on the kitchen wall was all scorched.; we had seen lightning and heard the resulting thunder from close up. Having related the experience, don't ask me to explain it. I saw it but to this day 35 years later it makes my brain go fuzzy when I try to wrap my mind around what we had seen. I still have so many questions about it. That amorphous, seemingly living and moving ball of electricity -- what force was holding it together in that shape? We saw it come through a screen window -- how is that possible, why didn't the metal in the screen dissipate it or something? What made it float a certain distance off the floor and in a certain direction, what was guiding it? Altogether it took maybe a full minute from the time it came in the window to the time it reached the wall. And when it reached that wall, what caused the ball to collapse into that flash of lightning and resulting thunder? What incredibly rare set of conditions or circumstances came together that day to cause this thing to form and come through our window? It wasn't until fifteen or so years ago that I first read about ball lightning and I got goose bumps when I realized for the first time what an incredibly rare -- and dangerous -- event I was privileged to witness. I then went through a period of obsession where I read everything I could get my hands on about ball lightning. I've had a couple of good belly laughs when I read articles from time to time by "experts" who claim that there is no such thing as ball lightning, that it doesn't exist! My mother, sister, brother and I were all witness to the fact that ball lightning is very real indeed. We've experienced from four feet away, and not just for a split second. I still get goose bumps just writing this. Peter Marengo <zoburpants a cox net (remove urpants to reply :)> Williamsburg, VA USA - Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 20:09:04 (PST)

I have never forgotten these two incidents. In May 1955 I was in a motel room with my husband in Wichita, Kansas. It was raining. I was preparing for bed and walked across the room. Thru the window a large grapefruit sized Ball of Lightning came. It was hissing and sputtering and spinning around. It bounced around the room several times and I thought it disappeared into an electrical outlet. It was really scarey. Several years later, in Homestead, Florida my sister, husband and I were having coffee in our large kitchen. It was mid-afternoon in May or June. It may have been a light drizzle of rain, but the room was very bright daytime light. I was standing at the kitchen sink looking out the window. Suddenly, a Ball of lightning came thru the glass window, which was shut. It bounced over my shoulder onto the floor at least 3 bounces. It too, disappeared into an electreical outlet. The floor was not burned. It too, made a hissing, staticky sound and was a little larger than the first ball lightning I saw in Wichita, Kansas. Jane Graham-bailey Tequesta, FL Jane Bailey <janegb a adelphia net1234> Tequesta, FL USA - Monday, January 23, 2006 at 05:37:03 (PST)

I was staying in Siemiechow Poland during the month of February 2005 visiting my relatives. I got up at 1230 in the morning, the temperature was below freezing and very cold, the sky was clear and the moon was full and bright and there was snow on the ground and no wind.While I was looking out the window I saw two bright balls of light about 600 feet from the house on clear snowy field. One ball was about four feet in diameter and another bright ball was about 2 feet in diameter.The balls of light were very, very bright like a white bright light, there were no people there nor was there anything that would cause this to occurer. The bright balls floated about five feet above the ground and stayed there for about 20 minutes to a half hour.I prayed thinking they were some kind of spirits that came to me. I was afraid and the house was located 1000 feet in the hills on a clear snowy field. My relatives were sleeping and I was terrified and just kept looking at these two balls floating for that half hour. Then the small ball went to the right side and I thought maybe someone was walking with that bright ball of light but there was no one.Then the small ball went straight up to the sky and disappeared. The larger ball went slowly to the sky, twenty minutes later, and it too disappeared. I followed it up and it went up and up and got smaller as it went up and it too disappeared. I then went to sleep and woke up in the morning told everyone about those balls of lights and went out to the field in the snow, waist deep and saw no tracks nor any sign of melting or disturbance in the snow. I never saw anything like that in my life.I told my family and neighbors about these balls of lights and they said it may have come from the high voltage lines that were close to the house where I was staying . But no one ever saw balls of lights like I saw and they had no real explanation for that other than the high voltage lines that went through the property. Wanda Markow Tarnow Poland - Sunday, January 22, 2006 at 02:51:31 (PST)

I vivdly recall witnessing what I can only describe as Ball Lightning. Approximately fifteen years ago, I was assisting my mother in the garden. It was midday and the weather had quickly shifted from sunny to overcast. I remember that smell of ozone as it began to rain. My mother and I decided to go inside. As I reached to close the living-room window, I clearly caught sight of a very bright, intensely-orange, slowly-expanding sphere of light which flashed like a camera before/whilst popping like a bubble. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Patrick Carr Glenrothes, Scotland, UK. - Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 22:33:00 (PST)

Re: Ball lightning. My husband & I witnessed ball lightning in August,1980 in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. We were up late watching an old movie when an object, about the size of a baseball floated right into our livingroom through an open window (which had a screen on it). It was blueish white with a small 'tail'. It moved slowly and just floated & bobbed over to the television where it hovered for a couple seconds. We were stunned to say the least and stayed very still! It made no sound, and simply floated into the kitchen and right out another open window. The whole event lasted about 15 seconds. There was no rain or thunderstorm in the area that night, just calm and a little humid. We had NO IDEA what we had witnessed untill many years later. We feel lucky to have actually seen this phenomena with our own eyes! C. Shea <saskcindy a hotmail com> Saskatoon, Sk Canada - Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 09:26:23 (PST)

I stumbled across this site by accident and was surprised to learn that others had seen ball lightening. In the fall of 2001, I was walking between our apartment building and a vacant lot with my two-year-old son. There were a few clouds in the sky, but no sign of an impending storm. Suddenly I a ball of bright white light, about the size of a house, appeared with a flash and a crashing bang about 20 yards from us. I pushed my son to the ground as I fell, then realized we should leave ASAP, and I grabbed him and ran indoors. I didn't experience any warning signs before it happened, like the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. We did get an electrical storm later that day. Kim White <alisasevenatcomcastdotnet> Grand Junction, CA USA - Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 09:16:19 (PST)

The summer of 1984 I was living in a small town in Finland called NOKIA. I was sitting in the open window of our apartment making a cassette audio tape to a friend living in Norway when it began to rain extremely hard. As I was looking down at the garden in the back yard of my apartment I witnessed ball lighting just to my left. I'm not sure how far away it was but It was close enough that I could feel the radiant heat and my left eye saw green for about a half hour. The ball was very bright white/orange and had a very small teather of lightning attached to it. I had heard about ball lightning before but was quite skeptical until I witnessed it for myself. All in all it was a really cool experience. Craig Maki Lethbridge, AB CAN - Friday, January 06, 2006 at 11:06:30 (PST)

I'm so glad to learn about ball lightning. It explains what I saw last summer (July 4004) and has had me wondering ever since. It was slightly cloudy and overcast. Though there was not a major storm going on at the time, anyone familiar with the weather here in Florida knows that in the summer, afternoon storms are the norm. Storms and lightning pop up and dissipate very randomly so I can say for certain that afternoon conditions are almost always conducive to lightning. My husband and I were driving in our car when a large (approx 3 meters in diameter) ball shot across the road in front of us immediately followed by another one. It seems to 'glow' and didn't so much look like fire as it did an large ball of 'electricity' (that's the best way I can think of to describe it). The people in the car next to us saw it too because we both slowed down and kind of looked over at each other as it to say "What was that?". Theresa Boring ORANGE PARK, FL USA - Tuesday, January 03, 2006 at 07:06:39 (PST)

I have recently had many unusal events take place that can't really explain or really want to get into at the moment. I found this site while doing a websearch on White bouncing ball light; which I have just experienced 20 minutes ago! Naturally I am pretty freaked out, due to all the paranormal experiences I have had this month. I was lying in bed watching "Cruel Intensions 2 on the FX channel. My dogs were all sleeping soundly beside me. I moved and caught a glimpse of a bouncing white light. I looked over, and right above my closet door was a white ball of light; approx. the size of a silver dollar. It was bouncing around. I sat up and the light changed shapes; It longated itself and bounced from wall to ceiling, but did not leave the closet area. I layed back down, and the white ball seemed to calm its self. I sat up again and it repeatedly bounced around as if it were aggitated or excited that I could see it. I checked to see if I had a glass or an object that may be catching the light. NOTHING! I went over to it and placed my hand over it to see if it would disappear if there were a light reflecting upon the wall. STILL THERE! I got scared and ran to the bedroom door to get my husband. As soon as I reached the door, I looked back, saw the light desinagrate before my eyes. Poof; it was gone, just like that. Someone Please help me! I do believe at times that my experiences are due to the fact that I may be dying. (?) Can anyone help me control all these Paranormal experiences? Please email advocatedaisy a cs com Lisa "Daisy" Coppedge <advocatedaisy a cs com> Saint Charles, Mo USA - Saturday, December 31, 2005 at 11:02:14 (PST)

All events occured within two seconds+/- as I'll describe.As I was reading, an electric-colored orb appeared nearby my right shoulder,producing a shock to my right body.It seemed to diminish to a tether as it approached a television 7 so feet away before fading out.The amorphous orb had left a pain in my right thumb which continued about 10 minutes.The reading light never flickered,no smoke,and nothing unusual seen at the outlet.The only explanation I can think of, is maybe an extraordinary dose of static electricity occured.The orb was approximately 1 foot diameter.The tether appeared almost 3 dimensional as i could see light walling, with intensity and voids. luxortoo canandaigua , ny USA - Monday, December 26, 2005 at 20:54:37 (PST)

In 1977 I saw the only ball lighting I ever saw. I was giving my niece a bath and looked out the window and saw a ball of light bouncing on the ground right towards the house. I stepped back allowing room for the ball which came thru the window and bounced thru my sisters home. It bounced right between me and my niece leaving no trace behind, it went into the living room where my sisters three boys were watching TV. The boys said it bounced thru the room and broke the TV, and picture window on its way out and bounced on down the front yard out of view. It wasnt hot or anything it was orangish looking like a ball of fire. I was upset and thought my sister would never believe that had happened, I wouldn't have if I hadn't seen it. She told me what it was and told me we were all lucky to be okay. marian howard <mar777ian a aol com> cleveland, 0hio USA - Friday, December 23, 2005 at 03:54:45 (PST)

Wednesday evening, Dec. 14, 2005 about 5:30pm, I noticed an odd orange light in the sky. At first I thought it was a reflection on my car window of a lamp post across the street, but as I turned the corner, I could still see it. I slowed down and noticed the light was moving toward the moon, but then stopped and hoovered. Then it moved again, but in the opposite direction. This was so odd that I actually pulled over and watched it. My kids (9 and 5) were just amazed by this weird light. It would move fast, then slow, then stop and go in one direction and then in another. Finally, after about 5 min, it seemed to just fall straight down with sparks behind it - almost like a firework finishing. Then it was gone. I tried watching local news and searching websites, but I cant find anything. I'm no a big believer of UFO's and aliens and all that stuff, but this was something I have never seen, and I couldnt explain it. I tend to be a very logical person and always look for a reasonable explanation for odd things. I cant find one this time. Jackie <joeandjackie93 a yahoo com> Long Beach, CA USA - Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 08:16:49 (PST)

I saw a Ball Lightening in 1984, and it wasn't but about a foot above my head! I was standing on top of an old fortress in Dilsberg, Germany, next to a lightening rod looking up. Suddendly therre was this blue ball right over my head. Since I was leaning backwards on my elbows, facing upwards, I might not have seen it coming. It certainly seemed to me that the thing just laterialized! Anyway, this bright blue thing hovered over my head for a few seconds (seemed long), and then seemed to make the decision to crash into the pole RIGHT next to me. It was fantastic, and I have never forgotten it! One thing that may or may not have anything to do with my experience: I go through lightbulbs like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes I can blow out three bulbs at once just by turning on the switch. And when I got one of the touch lamps, the first time I walked into the room it was in, the light turned on - eight feet away! I also blow out whole circits; the light switches in my room wont work any more. Sugar Heidelberg, USA - Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 02:28:55 (PST)

I WAS IN SAUDI ARABIA DURING THE GULF WAR IN 1990-91 (DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM), NEAR THE NUETRAL ZONE BETWEEN SAUDI, IRAQ AND KAWUIT. I WAS WITH THE 3RD ARMORED DIVISION, 1ST BDE, 503RD FSB, 5/5 CAV MST. ON THIS DAY I WAS TRAVELING FROM 5/5 CAV TO 503RD FSB WITH ANOTHER VET, WH DROVE TO THE TOP OF A DUNE, WHEN WE NOTICED ACCROSS THE VALLEY A STORM WITH GRAY CLOUDS. THEY WHERE TANKS AND OTHER VEHICLES IN THE VALLEY. AT OUR LOCATION THE SKY WAS CLEAR. WE SAW LIGHTNING STRIKE THE GROUND, THEN A HUGE RED-ORANGE BALL WITH SPARKS APPEARED. THE BALL TRAVELED (BOUNCING )FROM RIGHT TO LEFT. IT MADE A SIZZILING SOUND, AND CAUSED OUR HAIR OUR NECK TO STAND. DARRYLL PURNELL <DJPURNELL427 a CS com> LANCASTER, PA USA - Monday, December 12, 2005 at 21:24:11 (PST)

I have on 3 seperate occasions witnessed what I now believe was possibly ball lightning. The first is a somewhat vague memory (from childhood), but the second and third experience are still fairly vivid memories. The first happened when I was probably around 8 years old. It was raining outside (perhaps storming, I don't remember), while my mother and I were in a car driving on a street somewhere in Charlotte, NC. What we saw in the woods perhaps 30-50 feet away was a yellow ball of light, that seemed to be zigzagging through the trees, about the size of a basketball. I don't remember hearing any loud explosion or thunder, but the episode only lasted a few seconds. The only thing we could think of was that it was some type of remote controlled airplane or something. Pretty naive, I guess, but we just had no idea. The second experience happened when I was around 15 yrs old, while I was watching TV in the dark in my parent's living room, late at night. I don't remember if it was storming. As I got up to walk down the hall, I saw a small, blue, golf-ball sized ball of light fairly quickly streak down the hallway about a foot from the ground, disapearing at the end of the hall into the wall. I don't know if this was related, but there was an electrical outlat at that end of the hall, approximatley where it dissapeared. I heard no sound, and was more or less perplexed about it rather than frightned. The last experince happened again, while watching television at night, this time when I was about 16-17, in my ex-fiance's living room. Again, I saw a blue, golf-ball sized ball of light zip through the living room, but it happened so fast I could not see where it went. Again, it was silent as in the previous experience. I most note that one of the people I told about the last two experiences was my dad, an electrical engineer, who was very skeptical that I might have been "seeing things." I can tell you that these experiences were very real and intruiging, and I have found it very interesting to find that there have been hundreds of similar experiences that people have reported online. There's no question that "ball lightning" is a real event in my mind. Daniel Denver, NC USA - Friday, December 09, 2005 at 21:45:48 (PST)

When I lived in Atlanta I had a very strange experience and wonder if you know what it may have been? There was a thunder storm almost on top of my house so that thunder and lightning happened simultaneously. The strange thing was that every time there was lightning, it showed up as a ball of light in my bedroom. It had a tail coming from my window (which was closed and had a blind, drape and unplugged A/C in it, none of which were scorched). It was made of 2 colors light blue and white and those 2 colors swirled into a ball the size of a basketball that hovered a foot above me in my bed. I thought I was going to die and closed my eyes tight and wished it away (it was also too bright to look at for more than a few seconds). Then I realized it wasn?t changing it?s course and seemed harmless although I didn?t dare touch it, I jumped out of bed after the 4th time, having timed it perfectly I ran around the house, making sure that I wasn?t dreaming and looking out the window for bouncing balls of light. Outside I saw only sheet lightning. I jumped back in bed just in time to keep my dog safe. That ball of light came in 7 times!! As the storm moved away, the timings between the ball of light grew longer. I was not dreaming nor hallucinating nor was I drinking nor am I crazy. I checked the tree outside my window for scorch marks but there were none. The hair on my arms did not stand up nor was there a smell. I?m assuming this was one of those phenomenon like ball lightning or St Elmo?s fire but I was not near water, although there was a transformer nearby which is why I checked the tree. Nothing I?ve been able to find online sounds quite right. Any ideas? Hannah Hannah <hannah a paragonproperties com##%&**> boston, ma USA - Monday, December 05, 2005 at 13:18:54 (PST)

On the Monday before Thanksgiving 2005, I was leaving a friend's house while it was raining...the sky was dark, but there was no lightning OR thunder; until this bright ball appeared between she and I (we were only standing about 4 feet apart)it was there and then it was gone! We were amazed! Especially after the loudest clap of thunder I think I've ever heard in my life! My sister told me it must of been BL and how unusual it was to see something like that!! A. Craven <pmcswife a yahoo com> Concord, NC USA - Thursday, December 01, 2005 at 07:37:36 (PST)

My mom Karen was young when she lived in texas then one day she looked into the sky there was no cloud in seight. She saw a of yellow orange ball shooting lightning over good distances. My mom went back inside for 15 MINS and then walked back to the porch for 15 MINS. After that she went in. Jeremy J lovejoy <NOT LEAVING> lima, NY USA - Monday, November 28, 2005 at 15:38:42 (PST)

On November 14, 2005, about 6:30 pm. Dark out, raining, windy, and temperature had suddenly warmed up to the mid 40's from having been colder during that day. My husband was leaning out of the patio door smoking a cigarette (no smoking in our house) so as not to get wet in the rain. I had just finished washing dishes and turned around and approached the door to do same. There was a blinding bright green glow, like digital clock numbers green, that illuminated the back yard and our neighbor's back yard and seemed to come from the southeast. It seemed to extend from the ground all the way up into the sky but only in the southeast. The neighbor's yard to the northeast was dark. Also there was a weird hum corresponding with the glow, like a zzzst-zzzst-zzst or some silly sound effect from the mad scientist's lab in an old sci fi film. The glow only lasted a fraction of a second and then flashed out, but then suddenly glowed again with the same noise (and intensity plus my husband screamed "what the (bleep)"), then it flashed out and then happened again a third time. I kept waiting for an explosion or thunder to sound but there was none. I pushed past my husband who now kept saying, "what the (bleep) was that? did you see that?". Of course I had. I stood on the deck in the rain but didn't see it again. I thought maybe a transformer blew but the was no loud bang you usually hear when that happens. Also, the power in the house never flickered or went out while this happened. I thought next maybe some neighbor down the alley was blowing off fireworks, but then thought better of that because there was no report and the flashy-glowy things happened too close together in time and the hum was strange. If anyone has any idea what this is, please post. Is this some kind of lightning or an atmospheric plasma effect of some sort? Midwest Person Milwaukee, WI USA - Friday, November 25, 2005 at 20:43:33 (PST)

My wife and I witnessed a red/orange light in a clear dark night sky that appeared to rotate on it's own axis while darting in a figure eight motion at a high velocity of speed. I both thoroughly and completely understanding the laws of physics (of course applying to those physical/mathematical/observational true and known accounts of matter and their relevant existence here within). This light scattered about for approximately 8-12 seconds. As a man of science I cannot explain this nor share it with my peers. I remain baffled, but yet I refuse to not in some way give thorough thought and explaination to this observation. My first step is to attempt to define this observation via modes that completely have no existence based upon the laws of science that we now know here on Earth. Trust me, I am no fool!!! What we witnessed was no hoax, nor did it have any association with common lightning, laser manipulation, or a freak mental lapse. My wife and I were in such awe and shock that we looked at one another before speaking and asking each other, "Did you see that?" I remained silent as she explained what she saw. Having heard her description I was amazed because what she told was exactly what I had seen. My mind has always been open to both science and all those possibilities unknown. What called me to this website? What called you to this website? I venture to say sir/m'am, it is not moreso the light itself, but instead, what was going on in our lives as we witnessed what we saw. I both beg and challenge any and all those who have experienced this to please contact me as I know it is meant to be. To have read this much means your patience, awareness, and thrive on this subject is as concrete as mine. In closing, remember that light has no mass, and that scientifically there are phenomena associated with it. I promise you that we are a chosen few. BJ Keyes <bkeyes8208 a yahoo com> nc USA - Friday, November 25, 2005 at 06:00:14 (PST)

When I was twelve, I was lying in bed, watching the lightning outside. After hot summer days there are often enormous and violent storms. I liked the lightning, though I was less fond of the thunder. My bed was next to the window. It was raining on my house, and I was thusly not afraid of lightning strikes. I thought that lightning couldn't strike in the rain. I even had a torch in case of a blackout. But that was not what happened. Lightning was slow, so I gazed absently at the streetlamp outside my house. I was startled to see two lights glowing there instead of one. The lower one was the familiar faded glow of the streetlight, but the second was silvery-white, very beautiful, larger and rounder. It hung for a moment, went down and then came back up, almost directly above the streetlamp and both abruptly disappeared, the second light glowing brightly for a moment. Then there was an enormous thunderclap which cracked my window, so I ran in terror to my father's room. No similar occurrence has happened since. Jory Scott Melbourne, Australia - Friday, November 25, 2005 at 02:56:41 (PST)

In 1960, I observed a ball lightning phenonema. I was an 8trh grade student at St Francis of Assisi parochial school at Greene and Logan Streets in Germantown, Philadelphia, PA. Under a dark and lowering sky, with little or no wind, no rain, on audible thunder, a yellow, luminous ball, approximately 36 inches in diameter appeared on the peak of the slate roof of the church building. The ball slowly moved about 20 feet along the peak, then moved down the side of the roof to the eaves, went back along the lower edge on the roof the same distance, then quickly moved toward the ground and disappeared. I saw this from the school building, which was across a parking lot from the church building. Several other pupils, and the teacher, a nun, saw the same thing. Lou Gots <Kvl24 a XXX+aol com> Bensalem, PA USA - Monday, November 14, 2005 at 04:08:26 (PST)

Ball Lightning: In about 1977, I was working in a small valley. I looked up from my task and saw, on the far hillside, a very large (fifteen (15) foot in diameter (or larger)) blue fire ball. It had many fingers of lighting, that were about fifteen (15) feet long, coming from it's top to it's equator. The fingers of lighting all reached skyward. The ball lighting was dancing around on the ground and the ground was steaming everywhere the ball touched it. Grant R Larson North Ogden, UT USA - Saturday, November 12, 2005 at 18:28:44 (PST)

My experience with ball lightning: It happened during the summer of 1995, I was hospitalized for a blood clot in my lung. The room I was staying in, at the University of Michigan Hospital, was on the sixth floor and had a good view of the city. Early one evening, a thunder and lightning storm started. I was on the telephone, when my room turned blue. I thought at first that it had something to do with an alien or ghost. I told my boyfriend, "My whole room just turned blue." I looked outside my window and saw a blue ball of lightning. It was large, I'd say larger than a basketball. It was spinning, and I heard a strange humming noise. I was really amazed at what I was seeing but I was scared too because I thought it might smash through the window. My boyfriend thought I was hallucinating but the only drugs I was on were antibiotics. After a few seconds of hovering outside the window, the ball of lightning was sucked upwards. I got up and looked outside my window. The helicopter pad was on fire because it was struck by lightning. I was thankful that nothing bad happened to me. To this day, when I describe what happened, nobody really believes me so I'm glad to hear of other experiences. Renee <rexadus a yahoo com> Ann Arbor, MI USA - Friday, November 04, 2005 at 13:55:42 (PST)

I was standing on the balcony of my 2nd floor apartment during July of 2003. It was overcast, and a thunderstorm had recently passed through. I witnessed a glowing, orange ball suddenly appear about 30 feet in front of me and streak horizontally about 20 feet. The glowing ball dissapeared as quickly as it had appeared. Unfortunately, my friends were inside the apartment when it happened and did not see it. I know some people are skeptical about ball lightning, and seeing is believing. Well... I saw, and now I believe. Russ Brown <jimmyb20032003 a yahoo com*&*&*$%# a !> Kingwood, TX USA - Thursday, November 03, 2005 at 17:02:37 (PST)

To this day, I am still questioning myself and the sight that I experienced that cloudy spring morning approximately ten years ago. It was about 8:30 a.m., and I was getting ready to leave for school. As I was gathering my things, I glanced out of my bedroom window to witness a hovering, blue ball of light. It seemed to be watching me, as though it wanted to be let into the house. I gazed back at this impossible object, and as soon as it had appeared to me, it was gone! POOF! I thought i was going nuts, and I hurried to tell my younger sister what I had just witnessed. As I descended the stairs, an overwhelming scent of burning hair, an extremely burnt smell invaded my nostrils, an indescribable smell. I was afraid that my house was on fire, so my sister and I checked the home to find no evidence of fire, or the glowing orb that I had seen. This was my only experience with ball lightning. Jennifer Canada - Thursday, November 03, 2005 at 13:19:36 (PST)

Early this past summer, my girlfriend and I were taking our nightly walk around 9:30. In the air, right in front of us, a white glowing ball went flying by us as if someone threw it. The way I can describe what it looked like is, like someone took a lit floodlight and threw it. It may have been about the size of a soccer ball and had a tail of light. It was not a shooting star because it was so close to us and it was shooting across the air in front of us, not the sky above us. We just stopped dead in our tracks and were so freaked out. We never, ever saw anything like it. I have been trying to find out if anyone can explain what this is. It was not an Orb. It was very, very bright. It came from the right side of us and just shot over us in the shape of a horseshoe and seemed to descend about a quarter mile away into the trees. Paige Norristown, PA USA - Tuesday, November 01, 2005 at 13:10:36 (PST)

The most exiting day of my life. (June of 1987) The wind turned south during the afternoon (unusual in the area). A warm wind with a mini tornado made a clear one acre cut in the forest behind my house. I was in my hammock at 7 p.m. The sky was gray and the I saw bursts of colours coming from the house walls. I thought the house was in fire. I approached to discover that everything was OK except these strange noises behind me - kind of low level booms. I turned only to see these dozens of basketball size of I did'nt know what at the time. Floating like giant soap bubbles and colorful, one was disapearing in a burst of light every 10 seconds or so with this unusual sound and was replaced by others coming from the near forest (50 meters). I was soon half circled by these balls standing at 5-6 feet high. Then I began to feel my hair attracted and an unpleasant impression of numbness made me run into the house from where I could count 3 dozens balls. The whole event last 3-4 minutes. A last phenomena happened at about 10 p.m. the same day. After an electric storm and a power failure, my girlfriend and I saw a ball of about 10 cm glowing on the ground outside and not moving at all for one minute despite strong gusts of wind. Then the ball moved up slowly, accelerated and disappeared. I wish everybody could see such an event in their life. It is beauty and force united and nature only has the receipe. pierre masse <pierremasse a hotmail comxxx> quebec, qc canada - Monday, October 31, 2005 at 18:00:04 (PST)

When I was arround 8 yrs old I would spend summers at my grandparents home in Flatwoods Alabama. My grandmother was a very light sleeper and would wake up at the very slightest sound of thunder. One night we heard her get up to watch the weather so we joined her on the front patio. We noticed her looking around the corner of the house and when we joined her witnessed a reddish colored glowing orb drifting across the horizon. It was moving relatively slow and moved in a straight line right above the power lines then disappeared behind some pine trees. If i had to guess it had to be some 2 to 3 miles away. We asked granny what is that and she said I dont know but dont worry about it so I never gave it much thought. Now I am 46 and the memory is so vivid it seems like yesterday. It wasnt till I saw a special on the discovery channel thet i realized what we saw that night was indeed ball lightning. Ronnie Lee Slidell , LA. USA - Monday, October 31, 2005 at 10:50:02 (PST)

About fourteen years ago my family and I were living in the Tehachapi (Teh-Hatch-uh-pee) Valley in the mountains of southern California. I was fourteen at the time. We lived on a hill in a large two story house with 270 degree view for miles around us. A storm was a'brewing with some lightning flashes here and there. Since not one drop of rain had fallen yet, my parents, two sisters and I were watching the show from our large wooden deck. Then, as if a black tsunami had rolled over the valley floor, every light in Tehachapi went out. It was, indeed, an awsome sight but also a bit spooky. No wind, no rain, no light, and no cold. Just the darkness and the occasional lightning flash. So we decided to go inside and get the candles burning. About 15 minutes after the power outage I was up in my room on the second story with a flashlight searching for my sleeping bag and pillow (my sisters and I were going to sleep on the living room floor). On my way back toward the stairs I went in my sisters' room to look out their window, for they had a different view than I did. As I peered out into the darkness the strangest thing happened (I'm getting chills up my spine as I type this). A brilliant blue floating sphere, perhaps two to three feet in diameter, materialized outside the window right in front of me (keep in mind their window is on the second story with a twelve foot drop straight down). It emitted it's own light and seemed somewhat transparent. It also seemed to glide back and forth a bit as if it floated on air currents. Needless to say, I was frightended. I stood there for a few seconds not really knowing what to do, just staring. Then I ran out of the room and to the livingroom downstairs. I immediately informed my Dad of what I had just witnessed and, of course, thought I was making a mountain out of a mole hill. "Probably just some static electricity created by the storm," he said. That seemed logical so I forgot about it. Later that night I went out on the deck again, after all the lightning had died down. Still no wind, still warm, but the power had come back on. And there from the deck I witnessed the same phenomenon again! About a quarter mile away I could see a blue ball floating next to one of the houses on the valley floor. I couldn't tell if it was near a window though. Jim Blanchette <orangehypership a earthlink net> WA USA - Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 02:38:23 (PDT)

I was a kid. I don't remember how old. I was sleeping in my bed and I woke up. I was on my side and when I opened my eyes, the room was dark but there was a ball of light about the size of a basketball and it was just there hovering. It was there as if it was staring at me. I was so freaking scared. I thought I was dreaming so I started to pinch myself. I scratched myself under my covers to make myself believe I was awake. I closed my eyes tight and then opened again and it was still there. I looked up at the window to see if it was a moonbeam. The curtains were closed. My heart started beating fast. I slowly weezled my head under the covers. I peaked out again and it was still there. After about 10 minutes, I jumped up and turned on the light. I ran out of my room like lightning. I woke my sister up and together we went to the room and turned off the light. It was gone. I will never forget it. To this day, about 14 years later, I am terrified of the dark. catalina USA - Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 21:39:10 (PDT)

Weather - It had not rained for almost a month in NJ. The stream in our backyard had dried up. A heavy soaking rain started on 10/9/2005 Observation - It was about 9PM. In the area where I keep some haybales for archery target shooting, I saw multiple bluish, irregular shaped glows. I would estimate at least dozen at various heights. These haybales had been knocked to the ground because of yard work and tree cutting. I thought it was limited to the haybales, but I realized the height of some of the glowing shapes was 6 feet of the ground. I showed these glows to my wife and son, and they saw them as well. This happened for only the first night of the rain that continued for a week. For the remainder of the week, I checked at night but the glows did not return. George Shrout <shroutosaur a yahoo com# a #$%%> Princeton, NJ USA - Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 19:06:45 (PDT)

I'm a 17 year old female and sometimes I like to take walks around my house at night. One night a few months ago(August) I'd taken a little walk and then decided to sit and swing on a swingset we have in the front of our house. Our dog started barking and got really upset about something that she saw in our woods and when I looked I didn't really see anything but then I just glanced at the house and saw this neon green looking ball of light a little smaller then a basketball floating around the side of the house. When I looked again it was gone. I quickly decided I'd spent enough time outside and then went in and told my mom about it, she told me that it was probably ball lightning and that years ago her grandmother saw it at her house which is about 2 or 3 miles from our house. Her grandmother said she was in her kitchen looking out the window and saw 2 red and yellow balls sort of dance around each other and they went in between her house and the neighbors,up the hill and then down to the street and floated away out of her sight. Strangly when she saw them it was also at night in the summer. Jodi McCoy <TombRaider288 a aol com> Florence, Ky USA - Monday, October 10, 2005 at 19:33:55 (PDT)

Last night in Detroit, located 2 blocks east of Downtown, I experienced 2 cases of "ball lightning" which appeared outside my apartment building. I was talking to a friend who had her back to the window. I glanced over her shoulder in the dark room where we were talking because at the same time we noticed a bright blue light forming outside the window. As we continued to look out the window the blue hazy light formed into a clear blue sphere of light about the size of a van up in the air about 10 stories above the ground. The blue sphere of light also had smaller branches of lightning eminating from it. This lasted for about 4-5 seconds. It never was followed by any thunder. So now our attention was focused out the window, and after 5 minutes we saw another set further off in the distance. Coolest thing I've ever seen. Mik Vels-Norten-Quinken Detroitn, MI USA - Thursday, September 29, 2005 at 12:30:40 (PDT)

I was just watching a TV program that that made a reference to ball lighting and had to do a research on it to try and explain something that happened to me back in about 1990. The weather was cloudy and there was a light rain. It was around three in the afternoon. A friend and myself was stopped at a red light on a four lane highway. We were the first car in the line at the light, when we heard what I thought was a very loud thunder clap. At that instant we seen sparks falling from the top of a power line pole at the corner of the intersection. After the sparks stopped falling(about 3 seconds)we seen this orange/yellow ball maybe four foot in diameter slowly floating down from the top of the pole. It then bounced on the road about 25 feet in front of my car. Came back up in the air about 15 feet. Slowly came back down and bounced again about 5 feet in the air. It then shot off the the right like a bullit and disappered. The time it took from the top of the pole and disappered was about 10 seconds. We and seven other cars sat there through a green light and not one car honked there horn because I'm sure they were as dumb founded as we were. I assumed that a transformer blew up but when I drove by the next day there was'nt a transformer on that pole and still isnt today. Weird!!! Don <d.roberts a insightbb com> Louisville, Ky USA - Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 18:16:35 (PDT)

I've seen ball lightning twice, and my mother, who is 86 years old, also saw it. I saw it the first time when I was about 10 years old. My grandmother, who wore a hearing aid, was giving me a bath. My sister, who was 2 years younger than me, was also in the bathtub. I dimly remember that the weather was stormy. A ball of light, about the size of a grapefruit, suddenly appeared in the air behind my grandmother, about 3 feet off the ground. Her hearing aid popped, loud pops. My sister and I watched the light, and my grandmother, who couldn't see the light but heard the pops in her hearing aid, until the light just disappeared. The year was 1960. I saw ball lightning again in 1980. I was living in the country. We had a bad storm. I was in the bathroom, and blue flame suddenly came out of all the light sockets, then a ball of light, pale yellow, appeared in the middle of the bathroom, over the bathtub. It just hung in the air for about 15 seconds, then disappeared. My mother, who was born in 1919, said that when she was about 11, she was standing in the door of her house in Louisiana in a storm when a ball of light came through the door. She said it brushed by her hand, and her thumb went numb. The ball of light bounced through the room, literally bounced, floor to ceiling, then went through the wall and disappeared. Elizabeth Shuff <eshuff21 a aol com> USA - Tuesday, September 27, 2005 at 16:08:13 (PDT)

In about 1959 or 1960 I was sitting on the sofa in our living room during a storm when an aqua-colored ball of light about the size of a softball came through our living room window, rolled across the floor and went out the baseboard on the other side. It happened about as quickly as the time it took for you to read the above sentence. It left no marks, to my recollection, on the window, curtain or baseboard and I do not recall any noise or exploding sound with it. I had no idea these were so rare until someone recently made a big deal of my having seen ball lightning. Dianne <ds42a a 9aol999 com> Lexington, SC USA - Monday, September 26, 2005 at 15:59:21 (PDT)

In the winter of 1984, during a wicked blizzard I had just left my parents house to return to work after lunch. My place of work was one short block from my parents' home. The wind was blowing like crazy, snow swirling around so much that I was sure that my employer would probably send us all home due to the conditions. I had walked about half way down the block when a heard and felt a large boom. I looked around and there was a white/blue ball of light zinging towards me. I turned around and walked quickly away (couldn't run as the snow was too deep). I felt tremendous "static" and then the feeling was gone and I was walking in a normal snowstorm again. I got to work and asked if anyone had heard the bang and was told that yes, it sounded like a thunder crack. I explained what I had seen and felt and was told that it was probably ball lightning. I was working at the time for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and one of the Environmental Officers had told me this, I tend to believe her. Judy <jackfish a ripnet com> Brockville, ON Canada - Thursday, September 22, 2005 at 09:16:46 (PDT)

hey im 15 years old and not exactly sure what ball lighting is, but when i described to my friend what i saw she suggested it may be ball lighting. Me and a few friends where sitting on a bridge just across the road from me, we were just chatting away when i saw, what looked like a giant raindrop fall from the sky. It went down from blue, to light blue, to turquoise, to a kind of pinky purple. Then it just seemed to dissapear. Only me and one of my friends saw it and everyone i tell doesn't seem to believe me....please, could this be ball lighting, or if not what could it be? Thanks for reading! Nicia <-> Liverpool, UK - Wednesday, September 21, 2005 at 12:58:47 (PDT)

Ball Lightning - 9/21/05 Last night as I watched the tail end of Hurricane Rita from the beach, I saw a ball of light come from the east over the water and head west from my position looking north towards Palm Beach. I had never seen anything like it. I assume it was ball lightning because seconds after I witnessed it.....I saw a thunder storm over the water from where the ball originated. This was very interesting and I have heard no other reports of this sighting at all from any other source. Frank Donnino < > Boynton Beach , FL USA - Wednesday, September 21, 2005 at 04:54:49 (PDT)

I am so glad that I found this page. I've only shared this with close friends and family for over 30 years. One steamy late June evening in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in the summer of 1975 I was umpiring a Babe Ruth Baseball game. It was past dark and the air was electric, as a thunderstorm had just rolled through and another was building. The batter hit a foul ball out of play and I tossed a new ball to the pitcher, who turned away. Suddenly, a small fuzzy yellow-orange ball, perhaps 6-8 inches in diameter appeared about half-way between the pitcher's mound and home. It seemed to come from nowhere, spiralling in and lingering a few seconds about 5 feet off the ground. It came from the first base side; then just as suddenly it drifed away to the third base side ... and disappeared. No one seemed to notice: The batter was getting a fresh sign from the 3rd base coach, the pitcher was rubbing the new ball. I asked the catcher, "did you see that?" First he said "yes .. what was that?" I said "I don't know". then he said, "I didn't see anything." I said, "then I didn't either." That was that. Thanks for reading ... I feel better. j J. Girard <jgirard56 a comcast net> lafayette, co USA - Tuesday, September 20, 2005 at 19:58:02 (PDT)

Around 1999 in the fall, I was driving down the highway that runs south of Minden, NV and right along side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. It was afternoon on a clear day. I was with my son who was 18 or 19 at the time. We were looking for raptors, (hawks). We are falconers and we were looking to trap a young hawk. Hence we were activiely looking up and down the road. My son did not see this, it happened so fast. It is hard to tell distance because it happened in clear sky and there was no frame of reference. The best I could say was it appeared to form in the sky about at 10:00 O'clock or 20 degrees up from the road. It was a light blue fizzeling ball that hovered very briefly upon forming and shot at a tremendous speed at about a 45 degree angle west towards the mountain range. I was extremely excited when I saw this and my son although not seeing it, he did not doubt me, I only wish he had seen it, while I am 99.9% certain of what I saw.....you just never know for sure without backup. It feels good to be able to post this somewhere, it was truly one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. Richard Evans <richard**** a evansphotography****? com> Reno, NV USA - Monday, September 19, 2005 at 22:28:53 (PDT)

I was working at a hotel 'Bahia Mar' in the South Padre island area at the Southern tip of Texas in the 1975 time period. I waited for my job to finish up about 2 a.m. in the morning so I could take a girl I had met to the end of the road on the beach so we could make out. We drove out about 6 miles from the hotels and about 100' from the shore of the Gulf of Mexico and parked. After about 4-5 minutes of small talk and some kissing, I noticed her face lit up from a red light source from the beach. Its brightness and color made me initally think that a car had somehow gotten on the beach and pressed their brake lights on. She opened her eyes from kissing me and her eyes opened as in concern looking over my shoulder. I turned around thinking someone was going to back into my car, only to see a semi-translucent and red illuminated sphere about 30 feet off shore and about 100' from us! The light was the same color as a tail light red or the red you see from some of the polarized red stop lights. It was also hovering about 3-5 feet off the sand bobbing slowly and moving about 20 feet in all directions. The object was about 6-8 feet in diameter and was a constant color looking like a "glass ball" but with its own light coming from the exterior and not internally. We watched it for about 60 seconds where it paused its movements and became very still. She mumbled something lightly like a concerned whisper, then the object started to move toward us at about a walking pace. It stopped about 40 - 50 feet from us and then paused again. My "date" started to squirm like she was getting ready to bolt and then it began to move again toward the oceans shore. The wind was from the South East that night and I knew it wasn't a balloon as it went against the wind coming toward us. Our windows were down and we both heard nothing during this time. When the object got to the waters edge it bobbed a few times in place and then changed its hue or color to a slightly brighter red, then it picked up speed smoothly heading South over the Gulf moving out of sight in less than 6 - 10 seconds. It seemed to maintain a 5-10 foot height above the water when it left. The whole event lasted about 3 minutes. My chance for romance just started crying and sobbing that she wanted to go back home......nuts! Anyway, it was an amazing object to see and I've always wondered what it was. Jeff Smathers <jeffrey.smathers a office.xerox com> Molalla, OR USA - Monday, September 12, 2005 at 12:33:10 (PDT)

I am 37 yrs old and my report is from when I was 15. I was staying at a lake cabin with a friends family. My friend, Jeff, and I were walking back his parents cabin. The road and the entire area where we were was not lit other than the lights of the cabins around the lake. We had been visiting some girls we'd met and decided to leave because the weather was turning nasty. As we walked it was extremely dark except for lightening that was beginning due to the coming storm. The area was suddenly lit almost as bright as day. We looked to the sky and both seen an enormous ball of fire traveling across the sky. The ball of fire was large but he didn't truely realize how big until it traveled to the ground and behind some trees that were several miles from us. The trees in the area were 20 to 40' and this ball of fire was easily 3x that size. We watched as it traveled on the other side of the trees and then was out of site when it hit the ground. Terrified we ran and told his parents who didn't believe us. To this day some 17 yrs later I can still see the enormous ball of fire traveling across the sky and to this day many don't believe what I had seen. It was a night I will never forget. Jim Barnes <jb8586 a yahoo com> Elkland, mo USA - Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 21:18:12 (PDT)

May I tell you my experience of ball lightening. Before I describe what happened, I must set the scene, and ask for your patience. In September 1991 I was on holiday with my wife in the south of France. We were staying in a Gites owned by my wife?s cousin in the C?ennes Mountains about 1500 metres above the village of Saint Jean du Bruel near town of Millau. It was the second week of our holiday in the third week of September. My mother and father in law arrived on the 22nd to join us for a few days before we left for our return to England and were going to stay for a further two weeks for their holiday. Our holidays were to cross by a few days. On their arrival we shopped for groceries at a Giante Supermarket in Millau. That store has a commanding view up the Tarn valley looking eastward towards St. Jean. On that evening, above that valley was a large ink black cloud that had an almost cartoon quality with bolts of lightening coming out of the bottom. We later learned that it was the same storm that caused many deaths in the Marseille region. We now had a 30 mile drive beneath that storm to return to our Gites. On returning to our cottage from the shopping trip the power was down and we entered and proceeded to cook by gas in candlelight. The cottage is detached and about 400 years old. It is a converted farmhouse. The walls solid stone and are about 18 inches or 450 mm thick. Downstairs the lounge is about 20ft x 20 ft and the kitchen about 8ft x 20 feet. The two windows are approximately 18inches square. There is only one entrance to the cottage that is very heavy and old oak double doors (Barn Style) that were firmly bolted and locked. There is no TV or aerial. There is a telephone to the rear of the room. There is a large fireplace and chimney that are completely original. Upstairs is an open space for sleeping with a cherry wood floor supported on timber beams. The roof has slate shingles. The upper floor has a small window on each side of the building. All the windows were firmly closed. The whole area gives a feeling of antiquity. It is not a modern property, but is very solidly built. The cottage is on a mountainside and apart from a few similar properties in the vicinity is very remote. There is no street lighting or outside lights and is very dark at night. I stood chatting as mother in law and wife were in the kitchen still preparing the meal, my father in law sat in an armchair in the lounge. Outside the storm was now so violent and the lightening so frequent that it gave the appearance of a faulty fluoresent strip light. The rain was torrential. It could have been almost daylight outside. The time would have been about 9 to 10 pm and the temperature was about 30 degrees C-about 85 degrees Farenheit. Then my father in law called to me a said ?Bryan-come and have a look at this?. My wife?s family are from Yorkshire in England and are very ?Matter of Fact?. Derek is a retired engineer and not prone to flights of fancy. I walked from the kitchen to the lounge, (That was lit by candlelight). Hovering in the lounge, at about head height was a ball about the size of a child?s balloon. It glowed quite brightly a deep indigo blue colour and was perfectly spherical. As we watched, it floated horizontally from a position near to the fireplace from left to right about two feet away from the outside wall of the lounge to the rear wall where it then moved towards the floor and then back up again towards the ceiling. When it reached ceiling height it then slowly moved across the ceiling towards the centre when it went out with a large pop similar to a strong inflated paper bag being popped. Derek said that he had been watching for about a minute before he called me into the room. It did not seem to roll or hesitate but merely slowly floated like a half inflated helium balloon. There was no damage, burning or smell. We did not seem statically charged and felt quite normal. I have no doubt that we saw Ball Lightening that evening. We were not struck by lightening. This was witnessed inside. We were inside a locked and bolted property so these cannot be created by lightning hitting the ground. I was really glad that I had a solid witness in my father in law as I have often thought about this event and feel quite privileged to have witnessed it. On reflection, I think that the whole event probably did not last for more that 30 seconds to one minute, but as it was so astounding ones memory, like that at, at a road accident gets telescoped and in hindsight seems longer. And of course the permanent regret of not catching it on camera. I do remember ?A? level Physics and the suggestion that electrons pass upwards when lightening strikes as the charge flows down. When a cloud and the ground are oppositely charged, do you think that the evidence of Ball Lightening could show the seed of a lightening bolt that does not ?fire? because, confined within a structure and it has no route? May I hasten to add that we were not struck by lightening that night, nor were there any local hits? Despite the fact that this happened 14 years ago, it is still vivid in my memory and I would love to understand how this effect can happen. Bryan Haines <haines a clara net-123> Great Dunmow, UK - Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 18:05:08 (PDT)

I am 13 years old. I was at the park with a few mates, at about 8:15 pm. It was just starting to get dark. My 15 year old sister noticed a very bright star, over the roof of the village hall, but it appeared to be in front of a rather dark cloud. the sun was still setting, and it was the only star in the sky. i noticed it ws moving up. at first we thought it was the clouds moving, but then we noticed the distance from it and the village halls roof had vastly widened. it was a bright, shining light. we hadn't a clue what it was, but at the time we all seemed to agree that it was a slow moving meteor. we got on our bikes to get a better view, but it slowly got dimmer, then dissapeared. the whole experiance lasted just about 1 minute, but when i asked my dad, he told me that it was proberly ball litening, as there wasment to be thunder in the air. Ben Young <Skullkid71 a hottmale comunication> Canterbury, England - Monday, September 05, 2005 at 14:11:21 (PDT)

We were having an afternoon storm and I got the urge to take some photos of the sky.I took one of a rainbow and after I uploaded them on my pc there were 2 large balls in the sky.If anyone would like a jpg just email and in the subject line put Ball lightning.Have a great day, Trina Trina <rj a ponyexpress net~> savannah, MO USA - Monday, September 05, 2005 at 11:47:19 (PDT)

I'm 41 now. When I was in the 5th grade (at Oak Park) in Pine Bluff, I saw "ball" lightning. As I remember it, it was just before the afternoon bell and we were all sitting at our desks waiting for it to ring (end of school that day). The room was rectangular with the entire back made of floor to ceiling glass. Outside the room, the covered area that ran along behind all of the rooms was about 10 feet wide and abutted the playground for the full length of the building. There was a really heavy thunderstorm outside, I remember having that strange feeling you get when it gets dark as night in the middle of the day - particularly with the room lights being so bright. Anyway, I was turned backwards in my desk, books under arm, ready to bolt for the door at the bell when a huge bolt of lightning hit right outside the door in the playground. Sounded like a bomb of course and we all retched - a lot of screaming. As I continued to watch the spot where the lightning hit, the bolt was replaced by a bright blue ball of lightning that, picturing it in my mind, had to be about 3 or 4 feet in diameter. It kind of zig-zagged around from where it hit to almost the other side of the room (still in the playground) and then vanished. I can't remember if it popped when it went or not. I lasted for a good 3 or 4 seconds though. I'll never forget it. I ~know~ the phenomena exists. Kevin Cecil Pine Bluff, Ar USA - Tuesday, August 30, 2005 at 15:50:48 (PDT)

I was in college, around 1977-78, and was walking back to the dorm from a night class. I heard a hissing sound and looked up to see two or three purple lights moving north to south above the trees that lined the road. I thought I saw a shadow of an object they were mounted on, but that could have been an optical effect. When they passed the trees, I ran to the intersection to get a better look at whatever it was but couldn't see anything. I've never made a big deal or big claims about this "ufo" I saw, but it's been a mystery to me for years. It sounds like it could have been ball lightning. It wasn't a stormy night by any means, but it wasn't uncommon to have electrical activity on otherwise calm nights, perhaps from a nearby storm cell. Wayne C Troy, NY USA - Monday, August 29, 2005 at 13:19:27 (PDT)

I can remember seeing ball lightning at my uncles farmhouse in upstate New York. It would follow the electric fences to the iron water pipes in the old kitchen. Randall Marquis Tacoma, Wa USA - Friday, August 26, 2005 at 11:39:42 (PDT)

Ever since I was a young child I've been fascinated by the weather, but unfortunately have lived my entire life in Southern California, which receives very little in the way of exciting weather phenomena. But I do have three strange weather phenomena stories to share anyway. The first occurred when I was about 7 or 8 years old [circa 1978] and staying in Newport Beach, California for the summer. We very rarely get any rain in the summer out here, and a downpour is much rarer. Well, one hot summer day on the beach, I noticed a large buildup of cumulus clouds on the southwestern horizon, which was very odd. These ended up being the leading edge of a dying tropical storm that was moving in rapidly. By the next morning, it was cloudy, humid, and starting to sprinkle, with a thunderstorm brewing up. As the storm moved onshore, it was pretty boisterous with thunder and you could see a few lightning strokes. I was on a couch near a big living room window watching the storm, when a bolt of lightning blasted across the sky, leaving in its wake a ball of lightning that just hung in the sky for about 3-4 seconds. Of course no one else saw it nor believed me. I've done some research and found others have had similar experiences. This ball lightning appeared to me to be higher up in the sky, but possibly it was only 30 feet up, just beyond some telephone wires. I honestly can't say. It rained like crazy for the next half a day, I think about 3 inches, and I remember playing in it since it was such a warm rain. I'll never forget that ball lightning, it's a vivid memory. My next experience was in the Sunland-Tujunga area, near Pasadena, around 1982, in October. During the hot and dry day there had been no warning of thunderstorms or any interesting weather. My older brother and I were hanging out in the living room about 8 p.m. when we started to see some lightning flashes over Mt. Lukens in the San Gabriel Mountain range. We went outside to check it out, and it looked like some cloud cover over the mountains had erupted into a thunderstorm or something. No big deal. About two hours later, though, we started to hear more thunder, went outside, and could see a deck of clouds with accompanying thunder and lightning over the San Fernando Valley and right over our heads as well. Here is the weird stuff...it was still dry at the lower levels of the atmosphere, I'd guess <30% relative humidity, so this was a deck of thunderstorms operating in some dry conditions. The day had been a bit smoggy as well. The colors of the lightning coming off these thunderstorms was absolutely amazing, with pink, green, orange, white, and yellow lightning strokes. The white lightning was very vivid, and the rest were pale shades of their respective colors. We weren't dumbfounded by the colors, and figured it had something to do with the smog particles in the atmosphere. A neighbor drove up at about 11 p.m., said they had just driven up from downtown L.A., and had seen this weird lightning the whole drive up. I've heard a bit about odd colored lightning, but this show was simply spectacular. We did get a few big drops of rain but otherwise a very dry thunderstorm. Finally, this one is not too strange, but it was for me anyway. I experienced a microburst here in Long Beach around 1999 in March. We were in an unsettled spring weather pattern, it was early evening, but the weather had been fairly calm for about a few hours, except for some quickly streaking clouds coming in off the ocean. I was reading out in a back room that has a huge sliding glass window, and I looked outside and for some reason noticed how calm my 30 foot camphor tree looked, as still as a statue. The sky got dark all of a sudden, and a violent burst of wind blew down from the sky amazingly quickly, turning my backyard camphor tree from a serene picture to a 30 foot tree bending down at about a 60 degree angle. My first rapid thought was "tornado" but then I realized it was something else. I ran to my living room, saw out a smaller window this wind was still blasting the neighborhood, then all of a sudden, it was perfectly calm again. I raced outside into the street [along with a few neighbors], looked up, and saw the culprit, a rapidly moving storm cloud with swirling [not quite spinning] cloud tails. I have now come to learn that these sorts of microbursts happen around here every so often. R. Stuart Campbell Long Beach, CA USA - Thursday, August 25, 2005 at 23:06:58 (PDT)

during a pretty hectic thunder storm i was out admiring the weather seeing as i like the differnt formations and movments of the clouds and lighting when out of nowhere from within the appartment complex kindda shot up like a bottle rocket making two sudden jerking motions yet continuing the upward track then stalled and exploded leaving a plume of smoke we were a few miles from the gist of the storm with was moving closer two us but it deffently cought us both by surprize as far as colour and shape brillant white about the size of a large beach ball this occured august 25, 2005 clearwater, florida 33760 robert gerald <eyezwizeguy a yahoo com1234567> tampa, fl USA - Thursday, August 25, 2005 at 07:46:37 (PDT)

In 1930 in Dover, Delaware, my Mother, Grandfather and Grandfather observed the following: On a warm, muggy Summer night in whuch thunderstroms were present, a 24" (approx) diameter "ball lightning" phenomenon drifted in through the back door, floated through the first story of the house, bounced once on the wooden front hallway floor, (scorching it), floated out the front door (all doors were open due to the heat and humidity) and exploded on the front lawn with a loud report. This was observed by three witnesses, all sober, down-to-Earth, practical-minded people. P.D. Asilomar <deepsea_77NOSPAM a yahoo com> Carlsbad, CA USA - Tuesday, August 23, 2005 at 18:55:03 (PDT)

Last winter we were snow-mobiling and something weird happened to us. My spouses hair was standing up and my head was hurting. We got out of there fast. My spouse took a picture before it happened and there was small balls of light all around us. Even around the snow-mobile. Someone told us maybe it was Ball-lighting. Derek B. Crawford , Co. USA - Sunday, August 21, 2005 at 19:25:59 (PDT)

hi i was sleeping and i had gotten up to get a pop cause my mouth really hurt.I have this big bay window and i looked out side and saw a ball bright as lightning and then it looked as if it exploded but with light . i had no clue what is was .Then i told my dad the next day he said i was a lightning ball. Aug. 18, 2005 bob La crosse, WI USA - Thursday, August 18, 2005 at 05:25:05 (PDT)

This is an second-hand eyewitness report. A friend of my mother, now an elderly woman told the following story: Less than a year after her husband had returned home from WW II, the newly married couple moved into a house in rural Ohio. The house was very tiny, just a main room, which doubled as a livingroom and bedroom, and a kitchen. The "bathroom" was an outhouse. One day, while her husband was at work, there was a tremendous thunder storm. She liked the smell of the rain, and opened all of the windows. Then the electric went out, and since the storm made the interior almost dark as night, she lay down on the bed. Right after an especially loud and close lightning strike, a glowing ball floated in through one of the windows. She said it was about the size of a volleyball. It made a crackling noise, continuing to slowly float across the room, and then out the opposite window. During the entire experience she remained on the bed, too petrified to even move. Her husband, after hearing this story, thought she had to be dreaming, and continued to believe so until they saw a science program years later which described the phenomenon. Donna Chicago, USA - Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 10:18:25 (PDT)

In the winter of 1971 I was piloting a B-52 aircraft on a mission over nothern Canada ..We were flying an airborne alert mission ..It was probably about 10 PM with a quiet time in the aircraft although we could see some weather activity off in the distance . In the forward part of the cockpit were myself and my co-pilot Suddenly , without warning a ball of fire/ or energy about the size of a softball appeared to come right through the windscreen , roll between me and the co-pilot , over the throttle pedestal and toward the rear of the cockpit ...As I tried to follow it over my shoulder it just disappeared .It rolled about 10 feet from the windscreen until it disappeared . Both myself and my co-pilot let out expletives as we saw the ball appear and... then again after it disappeared.The co-pilot was very shaken and said lets land this thing ..Fortunately I had heard somewhere about the ball lightning phenomena so I guessed thats what we saw ...There was no physical damage to the aircraft , no electrical damage nor any evidence that it had occurred . When we landed , I wrote it up in the debriefing book .but never heard of any damage that had been caused nor did anyone question me about it later . Jack <Spooky40 a aol com> Lake Mary , Fl USA - Tuesday, August 09, 2005 at 17:15:15 (PDT)

ON JULY 29,2005,A THUNDERSTORM WAS BREWING TO THE NORTH OF WHERE WE LIVE. YOU COULD HERE THUNDER WAY IN THE DISTANCE BUT IT WAS CALM,QUIET AND NO RAIN AT OUR HOUSE YET. SO I DECIDED TO GIVE OUR ALMOST 4 YR OLD DAUGHTER A BATH. OUT OF NOWHERE WE HEARD THE LOUDEST EXPLOSIVE NOISE I'VE EVER HEARD. I SAW AN ORANGE GLOWING BALL A LITTLE LARGER THAN A GRAPEFRUIT. IT JUST APPEARED AND FLOATED IN FRONT OF MY FACE ABOUT 6" FROM MY NOSE. IT WAS ONLY THERE FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS AND DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR. I ALSO REMEMBER IT SIZZLED BUT I WAS MOSTLY JUST FOCUSED ON THE PRETTY ORANGE GLOW OF IT. MY INSTINCT TOLD ME TO GET MY DAUGHTER OUT OF THE TUB FAST AND I DID. WITH HER STILL DRIPPING WET I WENT LOOKING FOR MY HUSBAND AND COULD HEARD MY SON CRYING. THE SOUND HAD SCARED HIM HALF TO DEATH. MY HUSBAND WAS UP LOOKING OUTSIDE TO SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED. I WAS STILL SHOOK UP AND EXCITED AT WHAT I HAD SEEN I BEGAN ASKING HIM IF HE HAD SEEN THE ORANGE GLOWING BALL. HE SAID NO AND NEITHER DID MY SON. MY DAUGHTER CLAIMS SHE SAW IT BUT I'M NOT SURE IF SHE IS JUST SAYING SHE DID BECAUSE SHE HEARD ME TELL THE STORY (YOU KNOW HOW 4 YEAR OLDS CAN BE). MY HUSBAND FIRST THOUGHT THE CHEMICAL PLANT NEARBY HAD EXPLODED BUT THEN FIGURED IT WAS LIGHTNING THAT HAD HIT VERY CLOSE. THE NEXT DAY A FRIEND OF MY SON WAS RIDING HIS BIKE OVER TO PLAY AND NOTICED SOMETHING WRONG WITH OUR TREE.HE TOLD US TO COME LOOK. HE TOOK US OVER TO THE SIDE OF MY HOUSE WHERE WE HAVE 3 BIG OAK TREES. I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES HALF OF THE BARK ON THE TRUNK WAS BLOW OFF. SOME WAS IN MY NEIGHBORS YARD ACROSS THE STREET. THE TREE ALSO HAS 2 SPLITS RUNNING VERTICAL AND WILL HAVE TO BE CUT DOWN. THIS TREE SITS RIGHT OUTSIDE APPROXIMATELY 8 FEET FROM THE BATHROOM WHERE I WAS GIVING MY DAUGHTER HER BATH. I THANK GOD KNOW ONE WAS HURT AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT ORANGE GLOWING BALL. I'M GLAD TO SEE OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SAME THING. I THINK MY HUSBAND THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY. I COULD SEND YOU A PICTURE OF THE TREE IF YOU LIKE. APRESS a EV1 net ANDREA DEER PARK, TX USA - Monday, August 08, 2005 at 11:52:36 (PDT)

It was a rainy day of july in the city of sialkot, Pakistan some 15 years ago and the rain had stopped. I came up to the balcony of my house when I saw a ball of fire just like a moving moon with a size of about one feet in diameter moving from my left side towards the right side at a walking speed and just about 15 feet away from myself. It was strange because there was no noise, no hum and the path of the ball was wavy a little bit as the fire ball was rolling and a little flame was licking at the trailing edge of the ball. It looked like a full moon and slowly moving. I did not know what this thing is at that time and I was curious. The fire ball vanished near a tree top and noting happened. No one could explain about this to whome I talked. Later on after some years I read that light balls are produced in thunder storms. Ghazi Khan 2563 Granite Park Dr. Lincoln CA 95648 USA Ghazi Khan <ghazikhan4 a yahoo com> Lincoln, CA USA - Sunday, August 07, 2005 at 00:04:50 (PDT)

Possibly ball lightning. Son yelled at me to look out the window at 11.50pm at a very large bright pink shining ball that suddenly appeared in the night sky after a rainy day. We live near the sea and I initially thought someone could have used a flare, but that idea dissolved when the distinctly spherical pink ball of bright light started travelling smoothly sideways inland for quite a while so we could run outside and continue watching it until it disappeared behind trees. I discussed the incident with locals today and they suggested ball lightning, which one local had also witnessed years ago, except the one he saw was bluish-purple and was also in a very dark night sky after a stormy day. I hadn't heard of ball lightning before this and searched the net for info on it and found this site so just sharing confirmation of this very strange phenomena, whatever it may be called. Thanks for other confirmation Glenda Glenda McIntyre <glenda.mc a gmail com (prefer undisclosed)> Rosebud, VIC, Australia - Saturday, August 06, 2005 at 20:38:48 (PDT)

I received an email today about "ball lightning" , I had never heard about it, but now I'm glad I did after this happened... Now we know what we seen on Sunday evening at about 6. The sky was getting dark and the wind was traveling east to west and it started to rain lightly, I went outside and looked up towards the east and saw a dozen or so of what looked like perfect balls of different colors coming west rather than descending, they were ascending. I called to Michelle and she came out and saw the same thing(so I know I wasn't losing it). It only lasted about 15-20 seconds. I asked people yesterday and no one saw anything, there was nothing in the paper...Is there a way to find out if anybody else reported this? Joe montella <joe a msusa.info> Glendale , AZ USA - Tuesday, August 02, 2005 at 11:25:50 (PDT)

I experienced ballightning in the 60's.I'm 52. i was running from our house to the shed through a torrential, severe, summer thunderstorm storm. As soon as I noticed it, I stopped and starred at it. It was beautiful, luminescent, the prettiest sky blue I've ever seen. A fixed object, which definently had a boundry of about 16 inches in circumference, and about 4 feet off the ground. It was close to a utility pole that was holding several electrical wires. I watched it for 2 or 3 seconds, then WHAM. Lightning struck the top of that pole. At that same instant, the sphere turned into sparks that fell harmlessly to the ground. I knew right away it had to be a form of energy.A sureal, freightening moment The irony, is that both of my parents witnessed ballightning, at differently times. It seems, as all these letters will attest, that ballightning is not so rare that it could not be studied. I would be happy to answer an inquierer. Thank you rick miller <Rickachay1049> shelby, oh USA - Monday, August 01, 2005 at 19:14:40 (PDT)

Watching a monsoon storm approach Tucson from the south east at 9:45pm, Sunday July 31, 2005, the lightning was intense, then what looked like a road flare [red sphere very bright] appeared in the sky, it moved slowly for at least 5 seconds and then broke apart, falling. This was truly a strange sighting and I am sure I was not the only one to see it. John Tucson, AZ USA - Sunday, July 31, 2005 at 22:16:10 (PDT)

When I was about 10 I was hit in the arm by what looked like a ball of lightning. There had been thunderstorms throughout the day, and in the evening I was standing in the kitchen and what looked like a large bluish ball of light seemed to 'jump' through the sliding glass door and hit me right in the arm. I had almost complete nerve damage in that arm, and physical therapy did not help. I was not able to regain the use of my arm until about a month or so later after several acupunture treatments. My parents and doctors were still not sure exactly what had hit me, since I was the only one who saw it, but my uncle who works for the weather monitoring center in CO suggested it might be a ball of lightning, which no one else had heard of. Erik Ho <$$gabeyho# a yahoo com$$> Bakersfield, CA USA - Saturday, July 30, 2005 at 22:58:33 (PDT)

Yesterday, july 29th 2005 as my mother and I were driving home I saw these two strange orbs of light desending out of the sky. They looked like meteors or comets. It was rather alarming so I pointed them out to mom right away. Neither of us had seen anything like them. They kept desending in perfect syncronization, sort of parallel to one another at about a 75 degree angle from the ground. After that they passed behind a building for a bit, but I saw one again, drifting back up words along the same path that it had taken down. The only thing I could think of was ball lightning. It did look like it, so I think it was, even though this phenomenon is incrredibly rare. Emily Welch Missoula, Mt USA - Saturday, July 30, 2005 at 21:32:59 (PDT)

July 27 2005 around 9pm there was a violent thunderstorm that quickly moved through the area. After the storm had seemed to pass there was a blinding flash outside with a simultaneous thunderclap. In the master bedroom on the second floor of a 2 story house a possible ball lightning phenomena appeared by a westerly window and traveled 10feet horizonatlly about 2.5feet off the floor. Once the ball reached the end of a short hallway connecting the room with the westerly window it turned sharply left and dissipated behind a dresser/mirror in the vicinity of an electrical outlet. There were two adult witness' who both saw the lightning appear at the window, which was closed and they both stated that the ball seemed to streak like a bolt of lightening itself across the area. There was no damage to anything in the house or the room, and one of the witness' was only a few feet from the ball as it happened. There was no effect of the electrical system of the house. The two computers running at the time did not get affected or did any other appliances except a curling iron. The curling iron was off at the time before the lighting happened and after it dissapeared the iron was on. The power is controlled by a solid state switching circuit, and possibly activated due to the lightening passing by affecting the circuit. This was the first time anyone in the house has ever witnessed the ball lightening phenomenon. F Oranzi <rostit a yahoo com> south eastern, PA USA - Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 15:34:09 (PDT)

We had rather strong - to severe thunderstorms yesterday 07/27/05 in the North East and no surprise I was looking out my front door watching the lightning strikes. They were substancial with strikes occuring in every direction. Looking to the North West of my house, I viewed a strike come down once, then twice; however this time it appeared to stop half way and a ball a lightning shot off to the right in an erratic path. The lightning then struck a third time and it dissapeared. Heard of it but never saw it until yesterday - Very interesting! J Goodwin <degree333 a hotmail com> Hampton, NH USA - Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 07:20:32 (PDT)

I am a 36 year old male who was struck by ball lightning when I was 8 or 9 years old. I was visiting the Pittsburg Zoo and at night my family left the hotel to go out for dinner. In the parking lot I looked up and saw a ball coming towards me that looked like a comet. At least to my memory it seemed about the size of a vollyball with a tail of light... fire... something. It came down and grazed my wrist and left a "V" shaped burn. The strangest thing about the event was that I remember seeing the ball hit the blacktop and reflect back up into the air. It came down at about a 45 degree angle and bounched up at a 45 degree angle. I do not remember following it back up further then about 10 feet or so. By then I was probably looking at my wrist. After that I jumped into the car. Brad Jagger <bjagger a neo rr com> warren, oh USA - Wednesday, July 27, 2005 at 10:26:43 (PDT)

My first and only encounter with ball lightning took place in the spring of 1983. I lived on a lake in Michigan at the time. One windy stormy night around eleven oclock I was shutting the sliders facing the lake when I noticed these glowing lights over the water. I thought at first they might be lights across the water. There were no cottages or roads on the other side of the lake. I opened the sliders to get a better view. The spheres were bright yellow. They seemed to spin and dance as if on a loose wire. It was hard to tell how big they were, but most likely a few feet in diameter and most likely several hundred yards away from where I was standing. They also seemed to be positioned above the water roughly 80 to 100 feet. This is the only time in my life I have viewed something and actually had to rub my eyes to make sure of what I was seeing. This mystical occurance lasted for about a minute. Jon Post Grand Rapids, MI USA - Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 21:09:29 (PDT)

I witnessed this along with many others from our office. During a thunderstorm on Friday, July 18th, a bolt of lightning apparently struck near the edge of a field behind out offices. It was extrememly windy with heavy rains at the time, but for 3-4 minutes afterwards, a large round 'ball' was seen glowing brightly about 20 ft above the ground in the field. It blueish-white, for a minute or so, then gradually yellow/orange, but remained sufficiently bright to be seen through rain, and did not appear to move despite strong wind gusts. Jayson Mays <Jmays a pl.ryder com> Plano, TX USA - Monday, July 18, 2005 at 12:29:38 (PDT)

At about 11:30AM on Thursday July 14, 2005, I was standing in front of a window on the second story of my house and saw a blue ball of light 1 to 2 ft. wide hovering over my driveway. In seconds it exploded in a huge burst of light and sound. I assume it was a ball lightning. The explosion somehow knocked out my two neighbors' home intercom systems, blew out our security system, froze our garage door, blew down many tree branches, and knocked over some items on the walls. Some friends of mine miles away heard the explosion also. At this time, a thunderstorm was heading towards town, but the sky was still pretty clear when the ball lightning went off. Tanner Smith Kingwood, TX USA - Monday, July 18, 2005 at 08:14:42 (PDT)

My encounter with ball lightning happened at the age of 14 in the year 1980. I was living in Jacksonville NC at the time, located in the southeastern part of the state on the coast. It is an area known for its storms. It was night and storming outside. My family was at the kitchen table playing card games to pass time. I got up to get a drink of water from the faucet and just happened to look outside through the kitchen window. My eyes were drawn to the tree tops located about 100 yards behind my mother's house. Two glowing objects were moving directly towards me at a very slow rate. I was transfixed. I just stared at them. They of course grew in size as they approached and I would estimate them to be roughly the size of a soccer ball with one being slightly smaller than the other. They came straight towards the house and dissappeared from my sight above the house. They were low enough at this point that I estimated they would strike the roof. I ran outside as quick as I could to try to see where they struck and hoping they cleared the roof and just continued on their journey. When I reached the back yard I backed away from the house in an effort to see the full roof area. No evidence of any impact could be seen. No explosion took place and no sound was heard. They simply dissappeared. The following day I checked the front yard and could find no sign of any type of impact. They were very bright and white in appearance. No other color was discernable and it appeared as if a gaseous cloud of sorts surrounded each of them. In other words there was no defined edge. They were a beautiful sight and I am grateful I was able to have the experience. I scoured the local library attempting to find out as much as I could about ball lightning but unfortunately at that point in time not much was in print, at least in my area. I stumbled upon this site trying to find more information about something which I have always been interested in since it happened to me 25 yrs. ago. The internet is truly an amazing resource of information. I thought others might find my experience interesting. Now on to other sites with information on ball lightning! Wes Pierce <cwpierceremovethis a verizon net> Pasadena, MD USA - Friday, July 15, 2005 at 21:21:36 (PDT)

I was sitting in my motor home (RV) about 5:30 PM on July 14th 2005 in a thunder storm and looking out my front window when a bolt of lightning struck in front of my window but it was a ball about one foot in diameter with sparks or off shoots that didn't go anywhere. After awhile I went outside to see what damage had been done and there wasn't any. My neighbor knew that the strike was on top of us but did not see the ball of fire. David Schwamberger <dschwamy a verizon net> tampa, FL USA - Friday, July 15, 2005 at 18:11:07 (PDT)

14 July 2005 a 18.20 Me, my sister, my son and his mate were in the kitchen during a thunder storm which was directly overhead when we saw a small,glowing blue ball - a bit smaller than a ping pong ball - hovering just below the ceiling light. After a couple of seconds it exploded with the loudest bang any of us had ever heard and all the lights went out in the house. My sister, who was standing by the kitchen sink, got a mild electric shock but other than that no-one was hurt. Is this ball lightning? Clare B Nottingham, England - Friday, July 15, 2005 at 07:27:56 (PDT)

I was watching a show tonight about spontaneous human combustion and one of the theories about how it possibly occurs was by ball lightning. That reminded me of an incident that happened when I was visiting my sister in Champaign, IL. We were experiencing a really loud thunderstorm about 7PM. My daughter, who was only a few months old, was there with my sister and I. My sister had carried my daughter out to the kitchen and I was following behind, through the dining room, and arrived at the kitchen door about 15 seconds after my sister had gone in with my daughter. On my way to the doorway, as I walked through the dining room I began to hear this hissing noise, sort of like bacon frying. It was a noise I have never heard before. Although I wasn't really alarmed or afraid I remember thinking "what is going on in there?". As I arrived at the doorway to the kitchen I looked above my sister's head to see a ball that glowed, but had no color. It was about 9" in diameter. It had sort of a transparency to it I think. No sooner had I laid eyes on it there was a pop. All that was left was wisps of gray smoke. My sister and I both stood there speechless for a few seconds. I knew by the look in her eyes that she had seen it too and was pretty amazed by what she had just seen. We both stood there watching the wisps of smoke dissapate until they were completely gone, which only took about 25 seconds or so. We were kind of excited to see something so unusual. There seemed to be a sort of adrenaline rush for me, although I never really felt scared, but just amazed. I was glad that I had her as a witness to corraborate my story. Every now and then we bring it up. There isn't much to say because it began and ended with no notice, reason, or explaination. We just express our amazement at what we saw that evening. I was surprised to read that it's existence is somewhat controversial among scientists, as I am sure that I saw this. Also, the toaster oven that was on the kitchen counter where my sister was standing did not work afterwards and had to be repaired. We always took that as even more proof that our imaginations were not working overtime. Linda Andersen` Bloomington , IL USA - Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 21:48:49 (PDT)

I'm not sure this qualifies as ball lightning, but it may be a related phenomenon. When I was five years old, I was terrified of the dark, and after mom would tuck me in and turn off the light, I would lay there for at least 20 min or so looking around the dark room, terrified of what may be there. An average kid who's afraid of the dark, right? One night, my fears were realized when something inexplicable happened. I was looking up at the ceiling when a series of two or three small blue lights started "squirming" across the ceiling, eminating from the light fixture and moving several inches outward. It looked like someone was shining a blue laser pointer at the ceiling, but I was the only one in the room. I believe it was summer, and in the mountains of southest KY, the atmosphere stays unstable so it's entirely possible that a thunderstorm was nearby. Maybe this was some sort of electrostatic phenomenon? William Hall <<*kernal101 a yahoo com*>> Harlan, KY USA - Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 21:21:13 (PDT)

Earlier today, July, 14/05, I was sitting in my living room on the seventh floor and a thunderstorm struck suddenly. It was a dry day, and there was no rain for the first 15 mins or so. A huge bolt of lightning hit the lightning rod on the building across the street, and I saw it as I was turining off the A/C. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a glowing ball floating in the space between the buildings. It lasted for about 1 or 2 seconds, and then just sort of disapeared. It may have made a thunder clap, but there was alot of loud thunder, so it was difficult to tell. Jessie <Saucy_jess a hotmail com..> Peterborough, On Canada - Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 12:30:15 (PDT)

was watching a lighting storm 7/13/05 when i saw a ball "about 100ft above the tree line" travel horizontaly across the sky with no movement a straight line from one horizon to the other. dark in color. just a strange thing to see and no one believes me? lisa <lelesunshine a yahoo com> pgh, pa USA - Thursday, July 14, 2005 at 11:38:20 (PDT)

Is ball lightning considered unusual? When I was a kid, in the '60's, I was sitting in the living room, in front of the fireplace, directly across from the picture window, watching the storm. I got up to go to the kitchen, heard the crash of lightning, and saw a ball of fire fly from across the street, through the picture window, in and up the fireplace. (Lightning had struck a tree across the street.) If I'd still been sitting there, would it have passed through me with or without harm? Jaymie Capitol Heights, MD USA - Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 16:55:56 (PDT)

This was just last night july 3 2005 when my and my dad where looking out our window at stars when all of the sudden a ball of light flew right past our window at a very high speed. Soon after we has saw the ball of light it had dissapeard. About 15 minutes later my family and i were outside at about 12:30am just talking when yet agian another light ball flew right past us. Even though this was the night before the fourth of july this was not fireworks. the balls came from the direction of the empty field across the street from us. if anybody has had the chance to see to lighting ball in the same night or even knows if it is possible please e mail me michael king <surferkid892003 a yahoo com........> Gunter, TX USA - Monday, July 04, 2005 at 08:53:48 (PDT)

Late one summer night in 1990, my sister and I, and a couple of guys headed out to the old grain elevator just outside of town. We would usually jump the fence, turn on a light and start the conveyer belt-like elevator, in which we rode to the top for a beautiful view of Downtown Dallas (about 25 miles away). Well this night we would not make it all the way. About half a mile from the elevater it started to rain feircly, so we turned around and headed back towards town. We got at least half way there when a gigantic neon green ball of light floated in from the left of us into the roadway. David the driver slammed on his brakes and I dug my fingernails deep into my sisters arm. We came to a halt just as the orb passed in front of us. I cannot fully describe the vividness nor the electric-like charge of vividness we all experienced having watched that light float away. The crazy part of it all is that when we got back into town, it was blacked out, no one was on the roads, and all the people were crammed in the stores like it was the end of the world. This is my fondest small town memory, one that i will likely never forget. lucy sims <lusima a aol com> kaufman, TX USA - Monday, June 27, 2005 at 00:35:55 (PDT)

Around 1:00AM I was letting my dog outside for a minute. After a few seconds of standing outside I noticed a green ball light falling from my point of view at the rate of around 5 feet per second. It was a green ball emitting yellow orange sparks as it went to the ground in my nieghbors back yard, where it disappeared and left no trace. From start to finish the green ball was no farther than 75-feet from where I was standing SIZE-beachball Noise-None Color-Lime green Sparks trailing 5-7 feet behind My doggie also saw it and she looked over at me like saying "did you just see that" Thats All David Collins Noblesville, IN USA - Saturday, July 02, 2005 at 19:04:31 (PDT)

When I was 10 or 12 I was listening to my new stereo during a weather disturbance. To my amazement I saw a (approx. 12") round ball of what looked like electrical energy fly through the glass of my window and right into my left speaker grille. Nobody believed me of course. JC <jschsp a gmail comxxx> Albany, NY USA - Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 18:08:55 (PDT)

I was in holiday in Majorca and there was a thunderstorm, as the storm began to die down i looked out of the car window and in the distance above some mountains i saw a bal of lightening, it was high up, and from what ive heard most are low down, but this was large and in the sky, it was there for about 2 seconds before exploding, and dissapearing, no one else believed me, and now im beggining to wonder myself, is this a posible sghting? Emma Anderson England - Sunday, June 19, 2005 at 14:44:56 (PDT)

Ball lightning by boo boo. I am a tech i was working on a 300 hp compressor that was wired for 2300 volt. well the custermer had steam cleaned the unit, and did not do as i told them , i said to cover the motor with plastic when you steam the unit,anyways they forgot. so when we went to start the unit the moter was wet,well 2,300 volts to ground, man o man what a boom, then this pretty blue ball about the size of a basket ball , poped out , it had like 1000 little sparklers around it. it floated about two ft off the ground and was so pretty but the metal around it had no effect on it, but i did, it started to come at me, and i backed off it followed me around the unit and then just , poof it was gone. john wilson <wilsonjhd*61 a yahoo com> modesto, ca USA - Sunday, June 12, 2005 at 07:41:27 (PDT)

On June 14th 2005 at about 9:45 pm a very large weather system was moving over the region, they were calling for tornados. So a buddy and I went fishing at the Glen Abby golf course. We were about to leave when I looked up to the north east and saw a large whiteish ball almost levitating with two smaller orange balls beside the larger one. They were falling quite slow then dissapered then reapered finally moving into the forest. I'v never seen somthing like this before. Matt Weglarz Oakville, ONT Canada - Wednesday, June 15, 2005 at 09:51:50 (PDT)

When I was about six years old I saw what I think to be Ball Lightning, I am know writing this at age 12. July 4th I was sitting on a stone wall, watching the fireworks down town. Right acros the street were some power lines leading to a few sea side cotages. Well it was getting dark so all you could see were the street lights and the fire works. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a red blob, I spun my head around fast to see a red sphere like object moving very fast like through the power line> This did not disappear but rather vanished into a house coneced to the power line. I asked my mother and father if either of the two had seen tis strange occurance, but nither of them did.Now I am in the 7th grade doing a quarerly project on Ball Lightning. From the charicteristcs I haave learnd about this form of lightning, I do beleive that this was Ball Lightning. Victoria St. Amand <vixwith5 a yahoo com> Stonington, ME USA - Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 14:17:44 (PDT)

I was working in a military mechanic shop when a sever storm approached. I walked into the maint chiefs office to take a break a wait out the storm. I could hear the storm outside with very close lightening strikes. We were sitting about 4 feet apart talking, when I heard a very close strike. Out of the face of the two radio base came what I believed to be ball lightning. It moved slow directly between us. It was about 20 years ago, but I the electical smell. The ball was about two inches smaller than a basketball. It was a bright yellow, with darker yellow swirling around in it. It was about 2 feet from my face. It sort of hovered and moved up and down slightly. This lasted for about 15 seconds, then it exploded. Least I think it exploded, because of the loud bang it made. After it was gone we found the antenna cable dangling,, the tower on the roof had sustained a strike. It seemed to me to have a presence to it,, I have never told anyone, and we both have never talked about it. David Smith Syracuse, NY USA - Friday, June 10, 2005 at 12:28:50 (PDT)

About three years ago, when I was 12 or 13, I went camping in Myrtle Beach with my girl scout troop. It was the time of year when it was very warm and humid out and there were often thunderstorms in the evening. One night, just after dark, we were finishing dinner as a storm approached. I was looking into the sky for lightning as I often do during a storm, and something caught my attention in the trees. It was a basketball-sized, whitish-yellow ball of light. It was floating through the treetops very quickly, but not so fast that I couldn't get a good look at it. In about three seconds, it appeared to dissolve into thin air. No one else saw it. Emily S. NC USA - Thursday, June 09, 2005 at 19:06:27 (PDT)

It was 1998 and I was hanging out with a group of girlfriends at this Indian ceremonial ground in Chapel Hill, NC. We were sitting in the center of the rock circle at about 11 oclock at night. It was a clear night and I don't remeber any type of storm, but we watched, what I assume now was ball lightening, float around the circle. It was a bluish-green sphere the size of a basketball and it moved clockwise around the stones that we were in the middle of. It was very bright, but we all had our eyes fixated on it thinking it was an indian spirit. After it went around us once it came into the circle floated right over our heads and seemed to floated away or disappear. We didn't know what to make of it, but I remember we slowly got up and exited the cicle in a big huddle and then ran to our cars. michael s parker colorado springs, co USA - Thursday, June 09, 2005 at 13:05:55 (PDT)

I was a very young child, perhaps four or five. I was playing outside in the yard by myself. A storm was approaching. There was a powerline that ran down the alleyway behind our house. I don't remmeber if I heard thunder or not, but suddenly a large glowing white ball about the size of a basketball appeared at the top of the powerline. It slowly and gracefully drifted downward, making lazy bounces off of various objects, including our outdoor incenerator. Boy, did I ever hightail into the house! I told my parents about it and they were smart enough to realize I'd just seen ball lightning (which I had never heard of before, being so young). I've always wondered if there have ever been photographs of ball lightning, since it is a real event. Violet Bifulk <vio1letb2ifulk3cha4rter.n5et> Apple Valley, MN USA - Thursday, June 09, 2005 at 08:29:13 (PDT)

While deployed with the US Air Force in the middle-east, me and numerous other troops witnessed what could have been ?ball lightning?. On 08 June 2005 at around 0215, a ball of white light passed over the flight line. At first it was believed to be a star cluster or some type of aerial flare. There was no aircraft flying at the time, it was not likely to be an aircraft flare. Those who saw the light described it as a ball of light traveling at a rapid steady pace on a straight course. It was similar to the color of a white LED bulb, and was bright enough to light the ground. It was traveling about 50 meters off the ground, and made no noise. The light continued to travel until it was out of sight. Brad USA - Wednesday, June 08, 2005 at 12:52:12 (PDT)

It was many years ago when I was only a child; I am 18 years of age now. A friend and I were playing in the hallway of my apartment building; the hallway opened to the outside where we could clearly see the rain. It was raining hard from what I can remember and what happened that day is vague, but something I will never forget. We were barely focused on the rain as we were surprised by a white ball that seemed to float into the hallway. The ball approached us and stopped, starting an active blue circle around it's circumference and when the ending of the line of the cirlce met it's beginning, forming a full circle, it exploded within a very loud "boom" , somewhat like thunder. The event naturally frightened us as we ran into the laundry room. I have made several attempts to tell this story to others, but I have made no success. I don't even think that I, this very day, believe what I saw. Roger Cook <Cinemaniac336 a aol com> Greensboro, NC USA - Tuesday, June 07, 2005 at 02:53:29 (PDT)

Kugelblitz Gestern (3. Juni 2005) sah ich ein Kugelblitz in meinem Zimmer. Draussen war es am Blitzen und ich spielte gitarre, als auf einmal ein m?htiger Blitz vor dem Haus einschlug. Es gab einen extrem lauten Knall gefolgt von einem zweiten. Im selben Moment sah ich im meinem Raum auf Augenh?e, etwa 50cm von mir entfernt einen Kugelblitz. Er dauerte 1 Sekunde und sah aus, wie wenn ein Kern explodiert und eine sichbare Schockwelle rund um den Kern sich ausbreitete bis zirka einem Durchmesser von 40cm. Weisse Striche folgten vom Kern aus bis zur Schockwelle. Der Kugelblitz hinterliess keinen Schaden, ausser eine Angst die in mir zu versp?en war. [Yesterday (3 June 2005) I saw ball lightning in my room. Outside it at flashing and I were played guitar, when powerful lightning before the house hit at one time. There was extremely loud bang followed from second. In the same moment I saw 50cm of me in the my area on eye level, about remove ball lightning. It took 1 second and looked, like if a core exploded and a itselfable shock wave around the core spread approximately to zirka a diameter of 40cm. white ones of lines followed from the core up to the shock wave. Ball lightning did not leave damage, except a fear in me to feel was. ] Stefan <futureknight a gmx.ch> Adelboden, Switzerland - Saturday, June 04, 2005 at 10:31:01 (PDT)

I came across this site whilst looking for some explanation for what i saw today. Thanks for the reassurance(i was starting to get concerned about my health after having been convinced that i saw Brad Pitt on Saturday riding a bike :) I work on the 6th floor around 17h00 today a huge thunderstorm broke loose. We look out over metro and train tracks and the next buildings are quite far away so the view is wide as well. There was lighting coming closer but when a "crack" (more like a whip than regular lightning) drew my attention to the sky i saw what what i can only describe as a luminous jellyfish-like ball (light blue) that radiated outwards for a split second (not unlike a jellyfish moves either) and then disappeared. This must have been at least 1.5 metres in diameter and 40 meters above the ground. The metros are still out in Amsterdam (at 21h30) due to a lightning strike but whether this phenomenon caused it or your "regular" strain is anyone's guess. It was definitely an incredible sight. Nicolette <flickabixatyahoo com> Amsterdam, the Netherlands - Friday, June 03, 2005 at 12:37:12 (PDT)

The first ball of light I saw appeared just above a rooftop opposite my house during the evening in January of 2005. It was roughly midnight and it just appeared from nowhere about 100 yards from where I was standing in the back garden and was roughly the size of a football. It looked asif it were just a mass of fire, it burned a trail behind it. It moved slowly and silently for approx 4 seconds before burning out and leaving a black mass which travelled a further two seconds and then just disappeared. The second ball I saw in about april 2005 over fields at the back of my house. This time it was approx 500 yards from me and darted down from the night sky and vanished. Following my first experience I was a little doubtful as to whether or not I'd actually seen the light but on this occasion a dog which lives at the farm just out the back began to bark for a few minutes immediately following the light. I assumed the dog had seen it or sensed it or whatever and had responded to it. Whether this is the case or not, I don't know. The third ball I saw roughly 5 minutes ago over my garden. This is why I'm here because now, after three sightings in six months, I am positive that I am seeing what is actually there and not a figment of my imagination. I googled balls of light and came to this site. This time the ball was fainter, with a longer tail and shot across the night sky very quickly before just disappearing. I don't know what they are but they're an exciting phenomenon to witness if only for a few seconds. yan <ykirley a yahoo com> manchester, uk - Thursday, June 02, 2005 at 15:48:46 (PDT)

This evening my neighbor and I were sitting in my livingroom chatting when a flash of light emmitted by a grapefruit sized ball of light startled us both and ended the conversation. This occurred directly above my kitchen sink and there was NO foul weather of any kind. Other strange things have been occurring as well, such as doors opening and closing and objects spontaneously moving. Any ideas that can scientifically explain this would be very much appreciated. To contact me, remove &*& from my e-mail address. Thanks very much for any help and sorry for the typos. Heather <&*&mphumelelovenus a yahoo com> Evansville, IN USA - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 at 22:56:46 (PDT)

Late Spring of 2000, lightening struck a 30 or 40 ft pine tree approximately 20 feet behind my mother's home. I rushed to a patio door to see what was struck and witnessed a glowing blue bubble floating lazily through the air away from the pine tree that was struck. There could have been more bubbles - but I only concentrated on the first one I saw. I thought for a long time that the bubble was simply an optical illusion caused by the bright flash of the lightening strike. Later I read about the phenomena of "ball lightening" and have since decided this must be what I witnessed. As a side note, we observed the tree later and noted that the bark was removed in several lines down the trunk. Also, we had leaned a wood project against the tree earlier and all the nails were ejected. Finally, as the lightening strike ran down the tree and into the ground, it had uncovered a length of unused metal piping for about 30 feet. Alison Lee Jasper, TX USA - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 at 12:27:29 (PDT)

one day in 1970s,it is after rain,i suddenly found there was an orange ball (a litter bigger than moon)flying from a place at the middle of a mountain right up to the sky .then it disappeared in the cloud .the ball moved slowly first.the higher,the faster.after a moment ,a second oranger ball came out at the same place ,moved just like the first one . this phenomina appeared several times . many years thereafter ,this phenomina never appear again. Liu Weidong <liuweidonghn a hotmai com> China - Thursday, May 19, 2005 at 18:19:35 (PDT)

It was around Mother's Day 2004. It was incredibly silent as I nursed my son in one corner of our huge living room and my then 7 year old daughter was collecting her leggo's in an opposite corner to my left in the living room. My 6 year old was asleep on the sofa in front of us. I report the unusual quiteness because we normally have a lot of noise going on with TV's being on in every room, baby crying, girls talking and playing, etc... Anyway, in the center of our living room appeared a perfectly round bluish-white ball of light that hovered a couple of feet above the carpet. Although it rained later that evening, no rain or storms had been happening that day as of that point. Also, there were no sonic booms to report. (I mention these as they are possible explanations to this occurence, but they do not fit.) The entire event lasted several minutes (at least) and as I turned to my daughter who was awake and collecting her toys, I saw her stand up and drop her mouth open. (Mine was already hanging open) Although I was rocking, I stopped. A few minutes into the occurence, we both said ,"WOW! What's that?" Simultaneously as we spoke the ball of light disappeared. Upon questioning my daughter, she said ,"Mommy, it was not a ball of light. And it did not just disappear. It had a tail and it zoomed off to that corner.(Indicating the corner ahead of me on the other side of the room.)" The image she drew on a piece of paper and described was elongated and described to her to be about 3-4 ft high and about 2 feet wide. She stated it had "silvery things" coming out from all around it. At first, I considered that we both saw it different because of the theory of Quantum Physics, but when I remembered that I had stopped rocking, I wondered if we had seen something like an angel or a spirit. (I have heard that children will see angels differently than adults.) Anyway, some strange phenomena has continued to occur here at my house and someone mentioned that it may be a "familiar spirit" and it was not a good thing. Anyone know? Susan TenEyck <a_girl_named_suess(remove this section in parantheses) a comcast net> Marietta, GA USA - Wednesday, May 18, 2005 at 18:19:33 (PDT)

DEAR MAINTAINER,I HAVE A PHOTOGRAPH OF AN UNUSUAL LIGHTNING BALL WHICH I SAW ONE EVENING WITH MY FREND WHEN WE WERE ON WALK.IT WAS A STORMY DAY AND WAS ACCOMPANIED WITH THUNDER ANS LIGHTNING.RAIN JUST VANISHED. I DONT KNOW HOW TO PASTE THE PHOTOGRAPH HERE. CAN U HELP ME? E-MAIL ME AT ABOVE E-MAIL ADD. SANCHIT <SANCHITKUMAR a GMAIL com> ghaziabad, uttar pradesh INDIA - Saturday, May 14, 2005 at 03:14:33 (PDT)

Ball Lightning I would like to describe an not so exciting, but eventualy interesting event, when I, seemingly have "produced" very small ball lightning. It had happened some 25 years when I was still a student on Mechanical university. I have just turned on the light at my lamp with two bulbs, on my writing desk. After not so loud "crack" one bulb went off, but with corner of my eye I noticed very small spherical, white-yellow shining object going from the bulb downwards, at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, in straight line. It slammed in the wollen fabric on my table and mada a little charcoal puncture. The strangest was the 60W, 220V AC bulb, which went off. It had a small, perfectly cicumferenced hole, of about 1 mm diameter in it's wall. There was a long burr around the hole at the outer surface of glass wall, which was about 1 mm thick, but there was absolutely any other flexion or deformation, or crack in the glass, suggesting that only something with extremely high specific energy could penetrate the glass in a moment. George B. Vukovic Beograd, Serbia and Montenegro - Thursday, May 12, 2005 at 09:55:42 (PDT)

I was staying the night at my friends house and we were lying in bed, everyone else in the house was asleep and there were no light on. I had my pet rat with me and she started freaking, so i picked her up to comfort her and she turned towards the door, completly freaking out. I looked up and saw this random glowing ball near the door handle, in a few seconds it expanded and the centre went a faint shade of green. It then went really bright like burning magnesium then just dissapered.... it was pretty scary but really cool... Billie <dead_girl_running a hotmail com> Christchurch, New Zealand - Thursday, May 05, 2005 at 02:47:53 (PDT)

In my college years (early '70's) I worked during the summers as a two-way radio technician travelling central Iowa repairing police radios. On a sultry summer morning in Boone, Iowa, I arrived at the Boone County Courthouse to repair a base station radio that had been struck by lightning hours earlier. Its antenna was singularly located atop the dome of the courthouse and was a white, fiberglass-coated, vertical co-linear antenna. (It appeared as a white stick 20 feet in length.) It was a grounded antenna and had no exposed metal components. After replacing the antenna changeover relay I left he building and was descending its massive stairs in front when I heard a "sizzling" sound from above. I turned to see a ball of blue light, about the size of a basketball, skewered a few feet down from the top of the antenna and very slowly descendng the length of the antenna. It moved very slowly, perhaps just 0.2 ft/sec, and it seemed perfectly centered on the antenna. I realized what I was seeing and watched it for perhaps 15 seconds before rushing inside to the radio operator. I asked her if she had just transmitted and she had not. (The radio transmitter output 100 watts at about 36 MHZ (FM modulation.) No one had used the radio. I had used the radio to transmit to test the new relay I installed, but that had been perhaps ten minutes earlier. I could not coordinate my action(s) with the appearance of the sizzling ball of light descending the antenna. Given that the antenna proper was electrically grouned internally along its entire length, I reasoned that the ball lightning may have begun as something akin to St. Elmo's fire. The antenna was undoubtedly wet from the rain storm that passed through perhaps just an hour earlier and its needle-like appearance is similar to the designs of electrostatic discharge/collector devices. Great electro-static fields and moisture may have combined to cause the "ball lightning" I saw. When I exited the building the second time, having been in the building no more than 90 seconds, the ball had dissipated. A thunderstorm had recently passed through prior to this event and the air was warm (~84 F) and very humid. There was no perceptible wind. There was no lightning at that time and, of course, no thunder could be heard. rick shindley Big Lake, MN USA - Wednesday, May 04, 2005 at 21:50:43 (PDT)

Every summer i go to a camp in bemidji MN and we go on camping trips. well on one camping trip there was a huge storm and lots of lightning. It was at like 2 in the morninig and me and my friend stayed up to watch it at like 4:30 we saw this "ball of fire" like literally four feet in front of us we got so scarred that we stayed up the rest of the night crying and when we tried to tell the others who went camping with us they didnt believe us. And i've always loved lightning so when i saw the ball lightning i didnt think much of it and now that i know it wasnt just us i feel so much better! Kayla Spaulding Bemidji, MN USA - Wednesday, May 04, 2005 at 11:09:18 (PDT)

During a ride to a basketball game in the early or mid 60's, myself and the people I was riding with saw in the sky a greenish glow which looked like something had exploded in space. This wasnt a cloud or reflected light. It resembled molten plastic with streamers falling away but at a very slow rate. It was such a site that the adult driver, which was a Veteran of WW2, Pulled over to the side of the country road we we're on. As we watched we all agreed that it had to be in space because of the manner in which it appared. We never heard of any news reports or anyone else seeing it except thoes that happend to be going to the ball game as well. This is something I can find nothing about in the searches i've done on the net. It has long been a image I have wondered about and still search for an answer or explaination. Ed Goolsby <egoolsby a nctc com%6__0*&#> Red Boiling Springs, TN USA - Monday, May 02, 2005 at 21:02:44 (PDT)

ball lightning in 1990, while driving along a local potato field,i witnessed a dance of vertical balls of white light, several of them ,all flying at about eye level, running along the road and crossing in front of me. i drove out of it and got to the end of that road. i came around the road on the other side of the field and had to cross a bridge. as i approched it i could see the balls coming from the direction i had just come. soon i was in the middle of the bridge and was surrounded by these balls of lightning. one was coming directly for me and passed through the car. it was so hot that my hands turned ice cold on the steering wheel, i was in shock and pulled off at the gas station about a half mile away. the boy was pumping gas and i was so upset, i pulled him off the pump by the arm and into the store, fearing an explosion. he came willingly beacause i was so uposet. once inside everyone heard my story through sobbing and i felt my legs tingling. at that moment someone said i smell burnt hair. my legs from the knees down had all the hairs burned off my skin down to the root. little black bumps covered my calves. the hair has grown back as thick dark spikes after a couple of years of joking that i had found the perfect hair removal. i was disapointed, but had a great story. i knew it was ball lightning at the time it was happening but of course had never seen it. i was surprized to hear that there was skepticism on the subject, i thught it was proven fact.ive thought afterwards, i dont remember hearing anything. it had been thundering that day, but the ball lightning didnt leave me with the impression of being loud, just white hot light. ... there wasnt a scratch on the car. jan annapolis valley, n.s. canada - Monday, May 02, 2005 at 01:56:25 (PDT)

...on saturday, april 23, 2005, at about 8 p.m. my brother was driving toward Reading, PA and experienced a tremendous clap of thunder...his van shuddered with the sound...BUT there was no apparent lightning...this happened during a thunderstorm and he really didn't think much more about it...at about the same time, some 3 miles to the east of where my brother was, a dear friend was sitting at her kitchen table and heard the same loud thunder with an accompanying red/orange glow outside...she didn't think anything of it until i recounted my brother's story, and the following--at about the same time, some 11 miles east of where my brother was driving, his wife and children experienced the same sort of tremendous loud thunder clap, and two shelves fell off of the wall of their home...simultaneously, my parents, who live next door to my brother, had closet doors swing open during the crack of thunder...none of my family members saw a flash of lightning and all said they thought the thunder was an explosion of some kind...i did not hear a bang, but i was attending a wedding reception about 16 miles east of where my brother was driving and all of the lights suddenly went out in the hall and there was a loud sizzling noise...the lights came back on immediately...i have contacted our local TV weather people and have been advised by them that all of us may have experienced the same ball lightning phenonmenon... Carol D. Topton, PA USA - Wednesday, April 27, 2005 at 13:26:41 (PDT)

My brother and I were getting ready for bed one night in 1965 as a huge thunderstorm was approaching. We were standing in the middle of our bedroom between the beds and in a split second a ball of light came through the window screen (glass window was in the up position) and exploded. It was like a shotgun going off right next to our heads. Dad came running to the bedroom to see what happened. He thought we were messing with his shotgun. We showed him the softball sized hole in the screen as proof that we had just experienced ball lighting (no gun in the room). We had never heard of ball lighting before that, but we called it that because that's what it looked like. R Hawkins Miami, OK USA - Sunday, April 24, 2005 at 07:16:18 (PDT)

This morning, a dreary dampness outside at 7am 4.23.05 sitting here at my computer able to see pretty well without a light on, facing a window that's blinds were closed I had a terrific scare! I heard a zapping sizzling sound and saw a very bright light behind the window blinds that lit up my entire room. The brightest section of my window was at the top which made me think that a squirrel might have gotten zapped on a wire above or a wire fell into a tree and sparked. My computer went dead, all the power went out in my house and then came back on. Shaking, I went outside to inspect the "damage". There was nothing to see!!!! I checked the circuit breakers-none were tripped-all the power had returned compltely. I called our power company because I didn't want to ignore what happened. They came out and were puzzled and went to see my neighbor across the way. He returned to tell me that my neighbor said she was sleeping on the sofa this morning at the same time I experienced the bright light, she witnessed a light shooting accross through her living room near the ceiling and disappearing. There was a "wooshing " sound that accompanied it. The lineman suggested lightening as a cause. We have not had lightening in this area since last summer. This morning was a bit chilly so I had not thought that was the reason. My father-in-law is a retired lineman and I relayed my experience to him and he told me about Ball Lightening. He said it is rare but has heard of it happening. So I looked it up on the computer and found your site. I am a believer in ball lightening! Dianne Logsdon <carlsmom8200 a shotmail comco> Titusville, NJ USA - Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 11:40:24 (PDT)

It was around 10 o clock at night and there was a thunderstorm happening, so i was looking out my bedroom window waching the lightning. Then this glowing reddish/orange ball alittle smaller then a soccer ball floated across my yard about 15-20 feet off the ground then it just disapered. weirdest thing i ever saw. max ny USA - Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 21:59:43 (PDT)

I was sitting in my home office facing south one morning in March, when thunder and lightning began. A sudden clap of thunder was so loud that I startled in my chair. At the exact same time I saw a bright ball of light about 12 inches in diameter several feet to the left and above my desk, inside the room! It looked like a flashbulb exploding. I was on the phone at the time, and decided to end the call quickly. There were no electricity surges or outages, but I turned off my computer network, even though it has a surge protector and a Universal Power System. The ball lightning was there only for a flash, and then gone. RJ Erhardt <rperhardtdp a att net**> Maplewood, MN USA - Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 07:02:16 (PDT)

I was driving home early one evening last year (2004) just after a large but very isolated thunderstorm cell had just passed over. The remaining cloud cover was very high at the time but I remember looking up as I was driving and seeing an orange light and at first thinking it may have been a low flying small plane. As I got closer to home I noticed it float over the top of me, height and diameter unknown due to no reference object. As soon as I pulled up at home I jumped out and with binoculars I watched as this ball gently floated in a "S" shaped path and flew directly into the large thunderstorm with was by now a few kilometres to the south east of me. I've been looking for an explanation ever since.. Sean Bremner <sbremner4 a OOPS.hotmail com> Nowra, NSW Australia - Thursday, April 14, 2005 at 17:18:50 (PDT)

Sitting watching T.V in the basement reckroom. First heard a loud whistling sound followed by a several loud bangs we ran up stairs to check on the children. We were in the hallway and a red ball came around the corner from our dinning room.It was moving very fast. It went down the hall and disappeared into one of the bedrooms.We had two bedrooms windows opened. The redball appearded to have a tail. Guy Cyr <guy,cyr2 a sympatico ca hhahabbbissijshshs> Niagara Falls, Ont Canada - Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 17:53:19 (PDT)

April 12, 2005 About a half an hour ago I was sitting on my back deck with my 2 year old neice in my lap, my 7 yr old nephew next to me and my older sister cooking on the grill. There was a thunderstorm and we were outside listening to the thunder but there was no lightning. We had been out there for 10 or 15 minutes when it suddenly got very quiet and the biggest bold of lightning I've ever seen struck. It went straight down but it was very far away over a horizon of trees and we were on no danger. Still there was no noise and Just as it was going down I heard a crackling noise like static and looked over to the grill. Directly in front of my sister was this giant blue ball. It looked like a blue water balloon with lights flashing inside. We were all frozen in shock. It was bright blue almost neon with the glowing lights. It rose to the level of my sister's face and seemed to expand and then suddenly it srunk inside its self. Like an imploding water balloon. It exploded with heat. The lights inside it went all over us. Scared, we all screamed and the kids burst into tears and we ran inside. I have never heard anything so loud. Or seen anything so frightening. Once we got inside, we realized that from my shoulder to my elbow was bright red like a sunburn. And my sisters face was burnt and all she can see are spots and she has a ringing in her ears. I cannot get over how loud that was, that it seemed to IMPLODE right next to us sucking in on itself and exploding like a giant firework next to our heads. My sister and I are the only ones that it hit. My mom was inside setting the table inside and saw it next to us. We can't stop shaking. Hayley Marshall Cartersville, GA USA - Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 16:11:59 (PDT)

in the summer of 81 from a balcony in pimlico , central london, in the late afternoon . . it was non discript floating in the air.. . its scale was smaller than id imagine. i was 10 years old. neil aldridge <abstractduk a hotmail com> london, london england - Monday, April 11, 2005 at 08:08:59 (PDT)

I'm not sure of the exact year, probably 97-98.I was working an overnight maintenance ( outside plant utility / communication work )with a co-worker and several contractors. The contractors left the job site around 5:00 AM and my co- worker and myself were standing in the road leaning on our vehicles smoking cigarettes and drinking lukewarm coffee. All of the sudden a bright light shot overhead from east to west and caught our attention. I thought it was a meteor at first until the light split into several pieces. Part of the light continued on a downward trajectory but another part shot upward at a very high speed then disappeared. We both looked at each other bewildered, said a few choice words and went about our buiness. Later that morning the phenomena was the topic of dicussion on several local radio stations as well as local TV news programs and apparently quite a few people had witnessed the event. Ball lightning? I don't know... just a very strange event witnessed by quite a few people who to this day still don't know what the hell it was we all saw in that early morning sky. david fielder <dmpfielder a cox net> Lubbock, tx USA - Friday, April 08, 2005 at 21:33:14 (PDT)

well I have been seing "Ball Lightning" if thats what you call it, for about 5 years. The first time I saw it was in 2000 on Long Island,and I saw about 5 or 6 of them (white) flying around in no real pattern (about the height of a house). Another time I saw and orange one about shoulder height fly right in front of me. Another time I was driving on a busy road and saw it fly across the sky about 30 ft up. another time I saw a red one fly in front of me about 25/30 ft up and it looked like a bottle rocket,(that one looked cool). Another time I saw a bright orange one that waited for me to see it before it flew across the sky about 2 stories up like a flair gun was shot. Then that very next day I was at my fathers house and he tells me to turn around and say hello to my light, but i missed it. He tells me they follow me..... Day <offthawire a yahoo com> rockville centre, ny USA - Friday, April 08, 2005 at 12:00:36 (PDT)

My father and I were driving home to California from Houston during the summer of 1998. The two of us were in the midst of large valley in New Mexico. Cruising along at 70-80 mph we witnessed lightning strike about 100-300 yards away, and maybe 10-20ft off to the side of the freeway. Immidietly after the lighning struck, a Jumbo Beach ball sized sphere of what looked like "pure energy," or lightning appeared out of nowhere. The ball was a perfect circle, glowing with a bright intensity, like that of lightning. It hovered maybe 6-7' over the ground and never moved in any direction. And then maybe 6 seconds later, it dissapeared just as it had appeared: with no sound, no smoke; nothing. Just as though someone had turned a light switch off. What my father and I saw was without a doubt a "Lightning Ball." My Uncle is a rater prestigious science writer, and it was him who told us what we saw. I have never in my entire life seen anything as remotely bizzare and fasciniating as what I saw 6 years ago out on the empty freeway of NM. David Rudesill <pingpongprince a excite com> Santa Cruz, CA USA - Saturday, February 12, 2005 at 14:59:41 (PST)

My name is Nick Levesque, a few years ago my sister saw what she described to be a shiny, fuzzy, white light move about the room. It went in a straight line going all around the room, up, down, left, right, but changing directions quickly and angularly. It was moving rather quickly, abour as fast as 5mph. She was with 3 friends who all said the exact same thing. Apparently it came in THROUGH the window and in the room and then it simply disappeared. It was strange. All 4 of them were so frightened that they did not move. This is a good idea since i did someresearch and apparently they are dangerous and can explode upon contact with a human. If you have ANY explanation please e-mail me atRHS0179 a charter net, thank you Nick Levesque <RHS0179 a charter net> Roswell, GA USA - Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 19:13:18 (PST)

It was in Baldwin Michigan,1991 a nice sunny day, my back door was open and a very bright ball of light (fire ball??)about the size of a softball shot in my back door very fast right in front of me and disappeared into my son's bedroom wall,no sound,no smell,no burn marks. I thought I was seeing things,but my 7 yr.old son also saw it. Michelle <michelletherese a sbcglobal net123456> Michigan USA - Wednesday, January 19, 2005 at 23:12:38 (PST)

When I was a child we experienced a severe thunderstorm in the early morning hours. There was vivid and frequent lighting and light hail. A ball, blueish in color materialized, passed through my window, drifted over my bed, and made it's way toward the far wall in my room. It hit in the general area of the light switch and made a loud *snap* when it struck. While traveling there was a crackling/buzzing noise. I cleared my room to my parents room in record time and reported my story to two very skeptical parents. Then there was the crackling sound and a bluish glow in the hallway, it hit the door to my sister's room with another loud crack. A couple of seconds later my sister's door opened up and she ran downstairs. She saw the same bluish sphere in her room that suddenly dissapeared in a loud clap according to her. In my book, ball lightning is VERY real. David Holden, MA USA - Monday, January 17, 2005 at 15:13:41 (PST)

My grandparents were over for the evening and we got to the subject of lightning. I told them about positive lightning, Blue jets and such, then they asked me if i've heard of Ball lightning. I've never heard of it before i did research and they told me what happened. My Grandpa was driving home when his truck died so he pulled it off in neutral to a car garage near by. He said he only pulled in half way and then there was this basketball size lightning ball come through the top window in the garage and go out the door on the other end of the garage just feet away from him. On a seperate date my grandma told me that in her old house she lived in she saw this basketball size lightning ball go in one door of her house, through the living room and out the other door. directly after, her phone was dead and her radio was dead and burnt. I was amazed. Of course i thought they were doin a little "glug glug," but i trust them and all they say and after i read other eye witness accounts i knew it was real. Very weird. Rooney <*******wwwnachoslush a yahoo com********> Crystal Lake, Il USA - Wednesday, January 12, 2005 at 18:14:16 (PST)

They were a ball of lightning that came through the window of the house tonight, My two cousins were sitting down watching t.v, one of them is just 5 years old, his older brother is 25. As they were watching t.v this ball of fire came through the window, it came between both my cousins then it just exploded, knocking the phone lines out. No one was hurted by it, but if they were in the balls way, I think they would have been seriously hurted. Peter D Kay <peterkay493 a hotmail com> shetland, United Kingdom - Wednesday, January 05, 2005 at 16:19:16 (PST)

(Ball Lightning) Thursday 22nd July 2004 (Evening). I was watching a thunderstorm from within my house when I noticed a bright light to my left, I turned and saw a brilliant white sphere of light with fingers of light and sparks emanating from it.(approx. 500mm dia.) I would judge that the distance from myself to the sphere to be between 15 and 20 metres. After about 1 to 2 seconds the sphere exploded with extreme violence. My daughter who was over 1 mile away at the local train station, physically jumped when she heard the bang, and the station lights went out. Some of the electrical equipment in my house was damaged as was the external security system. This event was also witnessed by my wife. And several people who live nearby said that they saw the flash and heard the bang, although as far as I know, no-one else saw the sphere as it was obscured by the position of my house. Neil Hart <neilehart500 a hotmail com> Basildon, Essex UK - Friday, December 31, 2004 at 14:45:56 (PST)

In 1955 when I was fifteen years old, I was a bit late re-entering classes after the lunch break. It was a cold rainy day though at the time not raining. I was sitting under the external lunch shelter eave on a bench finishing my lunch. I had been working in the tuck shop and I was allowed extra time to have lunch. To my right at a 45 degree angle was the main school building about 100 yards away. It was a two storey cavity brick building with a pitched teracotta tiled roof. In all about 30 feet high. A ball of lightning about 30 feet wide and about 15 feet high came floating over the roof. It was almost in "slow motion". It floated about 100 yards from the roof coming down all the time until it reached a position about 50 to 70 yards from the main school building and directly in front of me (90 degree angle) to the bench I was sitting on. About 30 yards in fron of me. At this point it was about 10 to 15 feet above the ground when it gave out a deafening cracking (normal lightning and thunder clap) sound. After this it started to rise up and floated away in the same direction gaining height as it went, once again in slow motion. The whole incident took about 2 to 3 minutes. The only sensation I felt was the noise. Noel Lewis 34 William Street, HENLEY NSW 2111 AUSTRALIA Noel Lewis +612 9879 4277 <!!!!noell a yellowexpress com.au****????> Sydney, NSW Australia - Friday, December 24, 2004 at 00:40:48 (PST)

RECENTLY SENT AN EMAIL OUT TO A NUMBER OF PEOPLE VIA THE NET ABOUT AN EXPERIENCE MY WIFE AND I HAD IN OUR CAR LATE AT NIGHT,I NATURALLY DIDNT EXPECT MUCH FEEDBACK CONSIDERING THE STORY I TOLD BUT I CAN ONLY SAY THIS IS SINCERELY TRUE,IT WAS NOT A NATURAL PHENOMENON OR MANMADE OF ANY KIND AND WAS A TRULY LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE.THE ORIGINAL MAIL WAS SHORT CONSIDERING I WROTE IT AT 3AM ON THE NIGHT OF THE SAID EVENT AND PURPOSLY LEFT OUT CERTAIN DETAILS THINKING I WOULD GET NO FEEDBACK AT ALL ,BUT AN EXACT DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED IS TOLD BELOW.PAUL ON 17TH OCTOBER 2004 MY WIFE AND I HAD JUST LEFT FRIENDS HOUSE AT ABOUT 1AM ,WE HAD ONLY BEEN TRAVELLING FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS WHEN SUDDENLY FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF OUR CAR A [SHORT IN LENGTH]VAPOUR APPEARED TRAVELLING VERY FAST,IT LOOKED AS THICK AS SMOKE BUT WAS NOT AND SEEMED TO WRAP ITSELF IN FRONT OF OUR CAR,THEN SUDDENLY WE SEEN WHAT APPEARED TO BE A VORTEX SPINNING NEAR THE GROUND ,I TOLD MY WIFE WHO WAS DRIVING THE CAR TO SLOW DOWN SO WE COULD AVOID ITS PATH BUT IT STAYED NEXT TO AND THEN IN FRONT OF THE CAR SPINNING AROUND. WE ENTERED THE VILLAGE OF WHICH WAS WELL LIT UP AND IT APPEARED TO HAVE GONE, WE HAD AVOIDED ITS PATH,WE DROVE THROUGH THE VILLAGE AND TURNED A RIGHT TURN OUT OF THE VILLAGE AND SUDDENLY IT WAS NEXT TO THE CAR AGAIN,IT KEPT SPINNING AROUND THE CAR ,BEHIND, IN FRONT, TO THE SIDE A BIT BELOW EYE LEVEL.WE THEN HIT A LONG STREACH, DARK COUNTRY ROAD THEN IT SUDDENLY APPEARED TO GO UP, THE NEXT THING THE BONNET LIT UP GLOWING WHITE BUT WITH NO MOVEMENT OR REFLECTIONS OF ANY KIND, AND THEN SUDDENLY A KIND OF STRANGE SHAPED COLOURED SUBSTANCE ROSE UP OUR WINDSCREEN BUT WAS TRANSPARENT ,MY WIFE WAS SHOUTING WHAT WAS GOING ON, WE WERE BOTH VERY DISTRESSED AT THIS POINT.ALL OF A SUDDEN IT COMPLETLY DISAPPEARED NOT TO BE SEEN ,WITHIN ABOUT 30 SECONDS A CAR OVERTOOK US ON THE ROAD TRAVELLING ABOUT 50MPH WE COULD SEE IT TRAVEL OUT OF VIEW THEN SUDDENLY THE VORTEX RE-APPEARED NEXT TO OUR CAR AGAIN.WY WIFE TRYED TO RACE AWAY FROM IT BUT IT KEPT UP WITH THE CAR.EVENTUALLY IT ROSE HIGHER AND THEN WENT UP ABOVE THE CAR SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT HAND SIDE AT THAT POINT A OPENED MY WINDOW AND LOOKED UP AT WHAT APPEARED TO BE ONE ELECTRICAL SPINNING COLOURED VORTEX AND INSIDE TEARDROP SHAPED WHITE PLASMA VAPOUR, IT THEN HOVERED OVER A FIELD ON THE LEFT OF THE CAR FOR A THEW MINUTES BEFORE GOING RIGHT UP INTO THE CLOUDS WHEN IT APPEARED TO DISAPPEAR INTO A SHEET.SINCE WRITING THE ORIGINAL EMAIL I FOUND A REPORTED SIGHTING VIA THE LOCAL COUNCILS WEBSITE ICCHESHIRE OF A LARGE CRAFT HOVERING OVER BISTON VILLAGE CHESHIRE ON THE NIGHT OF THE SAME DAY,AND THERE WERE ALSO ELECTICAL DISTURBANCES IN PEOPLES HOMES ON THE SATURDAY NIGHT HOURS BEFORE WE SET OFF.THE MOST DISTURBING THING OF ALL WAS WHEN IT APPEARED ON OUR WINDSCREEN THERE SEEMED TO BE SMALL WORM-LIKE SHAPES OR PARTICLES MOVING ABOUT INSIDE, LIKE WHEN YOU LOOK UNDER A MICROSCOPE .WE KNOW THIS IS HARD TO BELIEVE BUT THE STORY IS ABSOLUTE AND TRUE AND SINCERE.THERE WERE NO "APPEAR TO BES", WHAT IVE WROTE IS WHAT WE SAW AND EXPERIENCED IN EVER DETAIL, NOT LASERS NOT LIGHTS, NOTHING OF THIS EARTH,I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE IT AS A PLASMOID VORTICE WITH AN INTELLIGENCE . IF ANYONE HAS REPORTED A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU,PAUL ONCE AGAIN THIS WAS TRUE,IT HAPPENED BELIEVE US WE NOTIFIED NASA AND THE TV STRAIGHT AWAY SCIENCE AND UFO COMMUNITIES ALSO,PAUL. p.reason <drnw42150 a blueyonder co uk> u.k - Thursday, December 23, 2004 at 13:08:07 (PST)

One day as a child I was standing in my uncle's pasture, he was a hog farmer in southeastern Nebraska. It was a heavy atmosphere that afternoon, and the sky was dark with the promise of impending rain. I noticed a strange glow that seemed to emenate from behind me and I also heard a peculiar crackle sound. Just about then I turned my head to see the most strange and beautiful sight; a round ball of green/yellow fire that seemed to hang in the air in the distance. Thank god this didn't seem close because I associate a goodness with this ball lightning phenomenon. I can only imagine the terror it could have brought on if I were close to this force. Inquire me at cold_front65 a yahoo com Luke Janousek <cold_front65 a yahoo com> Lincoln, Ne USA - Thursday, December 16, 2004 at 13:43:55 (PST)

In the summer of 1959, August I believe, and very warm and humid out. There were thunder storms off and on that day. I had just gone to bed at around 10 PM. My window was wide open. At the time there was thunder storm activity outside. In through the window "floated" a light blue ball of light about the size of a small basket ball. It bounced along the floor a few times and then came towards my bed. All I rmember is being launched from my bed and landing on the floor. I don't remember any injury or burn marks. This is the only time this has happened to me. Ken Lovering <jkstorozhev a shaw ca> Thunder Bay, ONT. Canada - Sunday, December 12, 2004 at 12:18:42 (PST)

1: When I was about 7 years old (1981-82) my family and I were camping in Wisconsin near the Dells. It was about 9-10PM and I was sitting behind the campfire facing the road that went through the campground. My dad had just gone either into our tent or to do something else so I was the only one in my family to witness this. I know there were other people still up on the other side of the road (I couldn't see any one but they were kinda noisy). From where I sat, I saw a reddish-orange glowing ball floating about 5-15 feet above the tops of the trees on the other side of the road and back maybe 20 - 100 feet (hard to judge the distance). At the time I thought the people on the other side of the road were playing with some kind of glowing beach ball sized thing, except that it moved parallel to the ground and to the road, no up and down movement. I didn't hear or smell anything. I think that night it rained hard after we all went to sleep. 2: My dad and two uncles tell us the story of when they lived in Pensylvania (approx. 1945-50). They had no screens on the windows and a window on both sides of the room were slightly open. They saw a grapefruit sized globe of sizzling light squeeze in the one window, followed down the wall, hovered across the floor, up the other wall, and out the other window, sort of following the air current. 3: My father-in-law and brother-in-law also have witnessed some sort of ball lightning driving between Texas and South Dakota during a thunderstorm. Mark Mensing Oak Forest, IL USA - Wednesday, November 24, 2004 at 04:35:46 (PST)

My two nannies and my son were in our kitchen on Tuesday when my son was engaged in his favourite 3 year old activity of playing the drums on the steel rubbish bin. It is rainy session in Singapore and at 1.30 pm the rain was heavy with the usual thunder and lightning. A huge flash of lightning hit one of our trees and a few seconds later a reddish ball of lightning came through our kitchen door, hitting one of the nannies on the knee and the rubbish "drum". The ball was about soccer ball size and dispersed through an open kitchen window. Philippa Allen Singapore - Thursday, November 11, 2004 at 07:30:29 (PST)

I was coming home from a car ride by myself one night, it was around 7:00-7:30 PM. I was listening to the radio station. As I got closer to home, maybe about 10 miles out of town. It was beganing to become a twilite, with dark clouds around the mountains. Then I notice there was a half way bright red ball type light on my left, just over the Turnagain Arm. I thought it was a 4-wheeler on the side of the mountain, because some of the mountains here can ride around on the trails. Then I begining to wander it was to bright for brake light for a 4-wheeler. So I pulled over to see if it was moving. Then I kind of put my head against the door frame to see if it was moving around. It did move but in a strange way. Then I remember I read about the types of lightning. One of them was ball of lightning. It was dancing aroung erratictly. And I said to myself, "Whoa, that is ball of lightning." So I parked there for a few seconds, maybe 10 seconds or so. And I really want take a picture, but I did not have a camera or video camera. I have not say anything to anybody because I thought nobody would believe me. At that moment on that I saw a ball lightning, I would love to see one more time because that was once or twice in a life time experience. And if I had a chance to record it, I would love to show what it really looks like. Larry Mayac <sriendangbabe a msn com> Anchorage , AK USA - Wednesday, October 27, 2004 at 21:01:56 (PDT)

One summer day back in about 1970, while visiting my grandparents, a thunderstorm came up. We all went out on the front porch to enjoy the cool air ( they did not have airconditioning ). While we were sitting there, lightning struck a locust tree in the front yard. I was young, I think about 11 years old, and I still remember feeling the heat of the lightning strike and that the thunder was felt more than heard. Before I could even become scared from that, a strange thing happened. A bright white glowing ball was moving toward the house from the tree. It was about the size of a baseball and zipped between us and right through the screen door into the house leaving a perfectly round hole in the screen. We looked in the door and saw the ball heading slowly toward the kitchen. Suddenly the phone, which was mounted on the wall next to the from door, rang. The ball almost instantly flew back across the room, hit the phone, which made a loud "DING" and quit ringing. The ball resumed it journey to the kitchen, where it settled on the water tank on the cast-iron cook stove and exploded like a small firecracker. The telephone repair guy replaced the phone a couple of days later. He said the inside of the phone had melted. one thing I could never figure out was the fact that the ball seemed to avoid the cast-iron heater in the living-room, as well as the aluminum buckets of drinking water sitting near it. Gary Nashville, TN USA - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at 10:52:04 (PDT)

While driving to work at 11:30pm during a severe thunderstorm, there was lightning everwhere, there was not little traffic so I drove slowly and watched the constant flashing of lightning bolts across the sky with hardly any gap between flashes, Then all of a sudden I see this orange Sphere that appeared and shot sideways for a short distance and was gone, It looked like a meteor does when it comes into the atmosphere, only more like a sphere, It was by far the most awesome thing I have ever seen. I believe what I saw was ball lightning, I've heard of it, now im a beliver and witness. Jesse Arellano <yz007 a aol com> Wynne, AR USA - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at 08:05:55 (PDT)

Well,I'm 14 years old. But... A couple years ago, When I was about 12, I was on the phone with my dad (parents are divorced). I looked out the window and a big electric ball was moving between two trees with a dog line on them. I screamed and accidentally hung up on my dad. When the lightning was gone, I got scared and thought I'd call my dad back. Then I thought No, I'm calling mom. So I called her and she picked me up. I've been scared to death of lightning ever since... Sylfaen Lilley Waynesville, MO USA - Saturday, October 09, 2004 at 08:54:01 (PDT)

My wife and I live in a small, suburbian town just east of Dallas, Texas. Friday night October 1, 2004 (this weekend) about 9:00 pm, I smelled something that smelled like ozone, a smell I associate with my wife's steamer that she uses in lieu of an iron for our clothing. We knew that her steamer was not turned on, so I suspected the weather - there was thunder and lightning activity to the southwest of us. I stepped out onto our covered patio and saw dark clouds backlighted with lightning every 30 seconds or so. We were concerned that it could be severe weather so we checked the weather radar on the internet and it showed a "red" cell in that area (red is the color that indicates severe weather). I watched it for a while to make sure it was not coming our way. As I watched, I noticed after every lightning burst, (it was cloud lightning or at least it appeared to be behind or intermingled with the clouds and I could not see any ground strikes), it looked like someone was shining a spotlight on the clouds. It became apparent after watching this for a while that it was a natural phenomenon. The continued for about 20 minutes. The spot of light would move horizontally across the clouds and would travel either direction, left to right or right to left Thom Cavanagh <tcavanagh a charter net> Rockwall, TX USA - Monday, October 04, 2004 at 06:06:35 (PDT)

It was in Elkton, MI. I woke up during the middle of the night by the sound of thunder. I saw the reflection of lightning flashes and got interested in the beauty of it, but when I looked outside the first lightning streak I saw left me baffled and confused. It was more two lightning streaks. One lightning streak actually spiralled around the other. Is that right? Can that happen? I would stake my life on the fact that that was what I saw. Am I the only one to observe such an incident? Adam Cook <mechjock a wolf-web com> USA - Sunday, October 03, 2004 at 20:25:40 (PDT)

A am a regional Informations system support person for a Wireless phone carrier. I cover the state of Kentucky and parts of So. IN. On this day I was in Lexington for work and returning home that evening heading west on I64 back to Louisville, where I live. It should have been daylight still, but the storm that was coming on made the sky very dark. I would estimate the I was going through Versaillies, because I remember the terrian being the rolling horse county typical of that area. I was in a white company van and I was being pounded by rain, visiblity would be poor at best. I looked out the right passenger window in time to see lightning hit a set of high tension power line frames. The second that these structures were hit, two balls (inflatible beachball sized) popped of the top of the metal structures and drifted erratically toward the ground. They glowed a bluish green and after the terrible shock of the lightning that produced these...the only sounds these made was a crackling buzz. They didn't fall down...they floated down. It was scary and exhilerating at the same time. Was beautiful to see this. It happened approx. 50 yards away from my van. Hope this helps. I've mentioned it to a few people and they reported similar balls launch from transformers when they get struck. Patrick Glancy <patrick.glancy a insightbb com> LOUISVILLLE, KY USA - Wednesday, September 29, 2004 at 16:11:26 (PDT)

Ball Lightning : I was about 15 years old and it was around 1967 or 1968. I was in the kitchen of my parents home standing at the kitchen counter next to the sink and near but not directly in front of an open window. The window had no screen. There was a thunder storm going on and a bolt of lightning struck just outside the kitchen window. I saw a ball of light, a little bigger than a softball, with sparks shooting out of it drifting through the window. It passed directly in front of me and across the kitchen. I never thought to touch it. I just watched it slowly drift by me. Electric stoves, in those days, had a flourescent light across the back and when the ball touch the stoves at the right end of the flourescent light it dissapeared. That was a once in a lifetime experience for me, so far. Tom Gallen <tomjgallen a hotmail com> Churchton, Md. USA - Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 16:16:47 (PDT)

When I was a child, both my mother and I saw ball lightning. It happened soon after a storm one evening in Wileyville, WV. Our family had gone to bed, but both of our doors were left open. The head of my bed was in line with the hallway which led directly down to my parents' bedroom. All the lights were off in the house, and I slept with a fan on. Before I got to sleep, looking down the hallway, I saw a light in the hallway coming from the living room which was adjacent to my parents' bedroom. Then, I saw an orb of light enter the hallway from the living room. It was approximately 5 feet off of the ground. It appeared to be roughly the size of a quarter or even a fifty cent piece. The only way I can describe the color was that the color resembled an arc from a welder, so white that it was light blue. The intensity was not as high though, as I could look directly at it without even squinting. Once it entered the hallway, it made a right turn toward my room. It was travelling at a slow walking pace. As I watched it enter my room, I found it interesting that it was not affected by the draft of the box fan. Regardless, it passed directly over my head, within 2 ft. and passed out the opposite door into the kitchen. When it entered the kitchen, it again made a right turn into the dining room. After it left my sight, I never saw it again. This is the part I think was weird. Honestly, I thought I just imagined it. Again, I looked down the hall and saw my mom getting up and leaving her bedroom. I then got up as well. I asked her, "Did you see that?" She said, "Yes!!" We compared notes, and the only difference in our stories was that she thought the orb was the size of a softball. What I find the oddest about the account was that we both then went back to bed and went to sleep. You would think it would have been life-altering, but it wasn't. You may not need this information, but I'm a preacher and have never believed in the "paranormal" (ghosts, etc.), as I feel it is not supported by scripture. Immediately, I searched for a scientific answer to this occurence. Like I told my wife, if it had just been me who saw it, I would have thought I was dreaming, but when my mom corroborated the account, I knew I saw what I saw. The only thing I can find that can explain with verifiable evidence what I saw is ball lightning. I hope my details can help in some way. Thanks for the consideration. Kriss Cecil-Crihfield Rachel, WV USA - Sunday, September 26, 2004 at 19:27:37 (PDT)

While traveling along a near deserted freeway (on my way to working a Mid-Shift) off to the left I saw a large glowing ball of "light/Fire" Strange???? As I traveled closer it seemed to be doing balancing act mid air I would guess 10-15 feet above the ground.... Very strange indeed!!! I've lived 50 fine years & have seen many unusual things and never anything quite like this! Traveling at 70mph I could only glance as I passed by & it appeared to be as large as both of my arms out streched, approx.4-5' diameter.... I will never know for sure what this was, but while taling around a Scut camp fire I mentioned this siting to friends who work for a local Power Company & someone said it was probably Ball Lightening.. so, I will accept that! I Love catching the many strange & unusual occurances in our wonderful Nature!! This was a very interesting site to find & read! Thanks! GB <buz_manning2002 a yahoo com> Tulsa, OK USA - Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 20:16:24 (PDT)

Time: 1am, Sept 17, 2004 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Observation: A ball of white light racing around the inside of a cloud, tracing the inside contour of said cloud. Cloud approximately 4-5 miles in circumference. Time for a "lap" approximately 6 seconds. If another cloud came close, it would move into that cloud and trace its circumference also and then return to the original cloud. Ball not visible when "jumping" from one cloud to the other. This phenomenom repeated over and over again for about 20 minutes. First time (in 48 years) that I have ever seen anything like it! Simply amazing and beautiful to watch! Mother Nature never fails to inspire awe! Frank Palahnuk <frankp a lvcontrol.mb ca> Winnipeg, MB Canada - Friday, September 17, 2004 at 08:00:01 (PDT)

Ball Lightning: I witnessed this myself: Between the years 1955 and 1957 we lived in the 1800 block of Sugar Grove Avenue in Indianapolis. The house was of a modest 1890's style with an "L"-shaped front porch with the front door at the top of the "L". Beyond the door was the front room with a door into the dining room offset to the right. Our old piano was directly in front of the door and the dining room doorway was to the right of it. On the right side of the dining room was a small vestibule leading to the back porch and the kitchen. Both the front and back doors were open. My grandmother was staying with us and a storm had blown up. She went to the front door to see how back the storm was. She was standing there at the screen door and I was at her left side when the screen on the screen door began to buzz and crackle. Fearing electrocution, she stepped back to turn and get us both away from the door when a bright blue, crackling ball coalesced on the screen and, after rapidly "gathering" itself, went whizzing on a zig-zag course through the house, that is, through the living room to the doorway to the right of the piano and into the dining room, then veering to the right into the rear vestibule then left to the back screen door where it exploded on the screen with a loud bang, scaring the daylights out of all of us. Neither screen was harmed, as I recall. She later said she had seen ball lightning following telephone wires when she lived on the farm on the Walnut Prairie in east central Illinois, describing how it would fall off the wires and "bounce," then explode with a bang and leave the smell of ozone in the air. Grandma also told us of ball lightning following the phone lines into a neighbor's house on the Walnut Prairie where it exploded their telephone, an old wooden "crank" model, and started a fire. I also remember seeing bright blue balls of fire fall off electrical lines in a thunderstorm in southern Indiana that bounced out onto the highway in front of us and vanished with little "pops." I believe! I believe! Tom Test <ttest11 a indy rr com> Indianapolis, IN USA - Monday, September 13, 2004 at 09:15:54 (PDT)

In 1980, on a road trip through Western Oklahoma, after encountering one of the biggest thunderstoms I had ever experienced, we stopped at a rest area near the Wichita Mountains. Late at night, after the rain had stopped, the trees were dripping and the mist was rising from the ground. About 50 yards away, I saw what I thought was a lightning bug. It would hover a few feet above the ground, but it would zip around much faster than any insect. Then the light zipped to within a few feet of the car, and I could see that it was actually a vertical arc of electricity, about four inches long, simply hovering in the air. Then it zipped away and disappeared. If it was "ball lightning," it was definitely not shaped like a ball. It was more like seeing a single spark of free-floating static discharge, but it lasted a lot longer. Dave USA - Friday, August 13, 2004 at 13:04:50 (PDT)

At approximately 7:30PM on August 8, 2004 my wife and I were startled by a bright blue flash and explosion sound in the middle of our living room with a very strong odor of ozone! It had been raining off and on for several hours but there was little in the way of lightning in our area. I went thoughout the house, attic and exterior of our house looking for possible damage but found none. The ozone odor was so strong that we had to open a window and run a fan to remove it. Having worked on television sets, high powered transmitters and radars during my 60+ years, I am well familiar with the power which electricity can exert and often in a very bizzare manner. However, this incident was a first for me and hopefully the last I encounter for had I been walking through our living room at the time it occurred I would have been engulfed by the phenomena! Jim Chuluota, FL USA - Monday, August 09, 2004 at 22:05:19 (PDT)

I was falling trees over on the west coast of BC in my younger days. I stopped and was leaning against a tree having a smoke and my hair started wiggling. My neck hair and my arm hair at first then the rest of it. I'm pretty open minded about things and thought that I should look around to see if i can see what's doing this. No expectations or anything like that, it was just curiosity. There was a bluish white almost transparent ball about a meter and a half in diameter kind of levitating itself through the trees. When I say levitating through the trees I mean THROUGH the trees not just among and around them. It gave off little arcs now and then between rocks, trees, bushes, etc. (If one shuffles their feet on a carpet, turns out the lights, and goes to touch someone else or whatever, you can see a little arcing there). Same as what I saw only this was daytime. I didn't know what to make of it so I never said anything about it and went back to work. A friend one tme was telling me he saw one travel through a living room one time. I also had a mother skunk with her family behind waddle right past me down the hill I was falling trees on. Totally ignored me like she was waiting for me to stop and have a smoke before she went on past. (That freaked me out a little. Wrong kind of perfume). Les Gilbert <lgilbert a shaw ca> Nelson, BC Canada - Monday, August 09, 2004 at 00:51:27 (PDT)

Ball Lightning - In 1963, when I was 14 years old I witnessed ball lightning during a thunder storm. I was visiting my grandparents farm in Pennsylvania. The storm occured at night and the power had gone out. The only light was from a few candles. My grandmother, my mother, and my 12 year old sister were in the kitchen with me. My mother walked to the kitchen sink to turn on the water. I was telling her not to turn on the water during a thunder and lightning storm, so I was looking directly at the sink. We heard a loud clap and then a ball of lightning came directly out of the water faucet. (the water source for this house was a natural spring on the hill above the house) It was about the size of a basketball and was light yellow in color. It looked like a ball of fire and appeared to be spinning. The ball of lightning moved slowly enough that we could watch it cross the room. It went in a straight line from the sink to a door with a glass window. It passed within inches of me and was about four feet above the floor. The ball then passed through the glass window and through a small mud room and through the glass window of another door. There was no damage to the windows. There was no sound or smell. We were all quiet as we watched it and spoke only after it had passed through the doors. All four of us saw the ball lightning. We called it a ball of lightning when decribing it to the rest of the family. But it was many years later, while watching a special on TV, that I actually heard the term ball lightning. It is hard to believe that some scientists don't think it exists. It was very real and something I'll never forget. Gretchen Stelten USA - Saturday, August 07, 2004 at 20:51:22 (PDT)

This is about ball lightning and is 100% factual. The incident occurred during an afternoon in 1973 or 1974, near Port Gibson, MS. I was 13 or 14 at the time, not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. I had accompanied my parents to their friends house on a large ranch/farm. The sky had been overcast all day, but no rain, thunder or anything had been observed. My Mom's friend was going to give us a banana tree, and I was volunteered to dig it up for my Mom. I was facing the front of the house with a shovel in my hand, and had just gotten instructions on how to dig the tree up without damaging it from my Mom. She was on the elevated front porch to my left, as was her friend. As I looked over the job ahead of me, I heard a sizzling sound to my left, which sounded very much like the sound a firecracker fuse makes when lit. My first thought was that one of my sisters had tossed a firecracker my way. I looked to my left, at the sound, and noticed a stationary ball of electricity, with arcing, active yellowish-orange colors, only two and a half feet from me and about at stomach level with my body. I looked at it for a moment, not knowing what it was, and it slowly started moving towards me at about 2-3 inches per second. My Mom and her friend both saw it and yelled "RUN!!" I ran to my right, hooked around the ball, and headed for the front porch and inside the house. When we brought my Dad and his friend out and explained what had happened, the ball was gone. It was about the size of a large grapefruit, perfectly round, and bigger than a softball. The next school day (the event happened on a weekend), while in study hall, I found a book on natural phenomena, and found that what I had experienced was ball lightning. To those scientists who do not believe ball lightning exists, you are DEAD wrong. With all the mysteries that cannot be explained in this world, I would think scientists would be the most open-minded. What I find strange after visiting your site, is that most occurrences happen during or after strong thunder storms with much lightning activity. My experience was totally out of the norm. Just a gray, overcast day with no violent storms prior to or after the event. Not even a drop of rain or audible thunder. By the way, I am a professional 44 year old career federal law enforcement officer with all my mental faculties intact. Ball lightning DOES exist. Trust me. I'm a federal officer. js jones <jsjones a netlinkip com> brunswick, ga USA - Saturday, August 07, 2004 at 15:41:00 (PDT)

my brother and i where outside late last night smoking and we both had seen a big yellow ball on the horizen i mean about twenty feet circomfrence almost perfectly round i seen this once as i looked away my brother seen this again we dont know what this maybe we concidered ball lighting but the report of ball lighting all seem to be small from about five miles where it may have been from us it appeared to be twenty feet so it was a pretty large for a ball lighting sighting maybe i could get some feed back please i still ponder what it may have been joseph wharff <kottonijoey> cottonwood, az USA - Wednesday, August 04, 2004 at 16:43:58 (PDT)

My mom once told me a story of her experience with what I think was ball lightening when she was a young girl. She said that during an electrical storm she and her parents were sitting in the living room when suddenly a bright orange ball of fluid looking light passed out of the television set, floated for a moment in the room and then flew off down the hall and out through a window. They of course all sat there in amazement and soon realized the television was burnt out. No more American Bandstand for my mom for a while. Everyone they told thought they were crazy, not far from the truth for my family! hah! I have also witnessed ball lightening myself. I like to take drives at night in the country to relax and unwind from a hard days work. One night while driving a thunderstorm blew in. Thunderstorms in Texas are fast and often very violent. As I searched for a place to take refuge the sky lit up like a WWII Bombing Raid! Lightening strikes all around. Through a fogged windshield I suddenly could see, in a field that I was driving adjacent to, three orange spheres floating towards the road like bubbles of fire. It scared the bejesus out of me and I drove faster to get past them almost driving off the road! I made it past them before they reached the road but looking in my rear view mirror they seemed to be following me. It was like I was in some kind of horror movie! I drove faster putting some distance between them and me until they finally vanished but it was a long time before I took anymore country drives, I certainly now check the weather before venturing out! David Wood Dallas, Tx USA - Wednesday, August 04, 2004 at 14:12:30 (PDT)

Please bear in mind this report is MANY years old. I am 50. This happened about age 10, I believe. I lived in Sharon Center, Ohio. We lived on Ridgewood Rd. (Yes, Ridgewood Rd still exists-the area is now upper class homes.) There was a very severe thunderstorm and I was standing at the front screen door watching because I have always been fascinated with severe weather. The thunderstorm seemed to be finally dissipating (this in the days before the National Weather Service so there weren't radio/TV warnings! You counted hairs standing on your head!!) There were several remnant flashes of bolt lightning. One, of course, set off a big ball that formed above an open field across the road. I cannot gauge the size of this ball whether it was 5 inches or 5 feet across. I do know the color was a brilliant blue-white and it was not just rotating but it was moving toward the house I was standing in. I remember being so fascinated (mesmerized??)that I really gave no thought that I might be in imminent danger. This ball did come across the field, cross over the road and into our front yard then exploded in a loud bang I will never forget. I have since served in a war and I can state that the bang of that ball of lightning was equal to the thunder of a bomb blast in sound strength. It was only when the blast struck that I jumped back in fear and horror. Are balls of lightning real? Yeah. I saw this one. It seemed to have been caused by a bolt from the cloud- not any weird, strange phenomena nor was it an alien spaceship.(If it was the poor occupants died in the final explosion! AND NO- there were NO little green arms and legs on the front lawn!!) Just how the ball was spawned from the bolt is a mystery. I DO know thats how it got started. I suppose if I hadn't actually seen this one I wouldn't believe in them either. I'm a very VERY practical person so this and a UFO definately would have to be in my face to acknowledge their existence! God bless everyone here. Sharon Musgrave <gensha_2001 a yahoo com> Canton, Ohio USA - Saturday, July 31, 2004 at 17:28:30 (PDT)

never before have I witnessed this but it was spectacular! it was storming outside and hubby and I were sitting out back and we were watching the lightning, suddenly the lightning turned red, yellow, blue and orange it was like a ball of light, really freaky yet really cool. I was searching the net to see IF indeed they exsisted and sure enough they do. this is like 9:30 pm................. never before but hope again to witness it, it was really beautiful!!!!!!!! thanks for letting me share the kling family karola klilng <germanspirit a comcast net> allen, tx USA - Wednesday, July 28, 2004 at 19:46:26 (PDT)

I was sitting in my living room during a thunderstorm with my sliding door drapes open. I always did this during a storm cause I love to watch them. All of the sudden a huge flash and explosion! There across my sliding door went rolling balls of lightning. One was as big as a baseball while the rest were like marbles. Scared the crap out of me!. I never knew ball lightning was unusual. sharon syfrett <bugeyed a comporium net> fort mill, sc USA - Wednesday, July 28, 2004 at 11:56:15 (PDT)

This happened to my father about Fifty years ago, and before he died last year I asked him to tell me again about the ball lightening he saw when he was young.He recalled sitting on the front verandah of the family home in New South Wales, Australia. He said around midday he looked out over the paddock at the front of the house and there appeared a ball of fire, orange in colour about the size of a beach ball.He said it travelled slowly along the fence line at the edge of the property until it was directly in line with the front of the house, then turned at a right angle,heading directly towards the house.it remained at the same speed and travelled right up the front steps of the house,down through the hallway and out the back door, disappearing never to be seen again.He never mentioned if it made a noise or emitted an odour. Trevor Stewart <ingrids a tpg com.au> Cairns, qld australia - Saturday, July 24, 2004 at 00:07:32 (PDT)

My mom, a down to earth lady, and a lover of storms, tells us children of ball lightning she saw in the late 50s or early 60s in N central Florida. It appeared in the back yard during an afternoon thunderstorm, she observed it from the kitchen window for a period of time, somewhat awe-struck. She did not make this up, she has little to no imagination, and always seems sort of embarassed to admit it. My Mom gave me a love of wild weather, and a fearlessness toward it, mingled with a healthy respect. She came from Illinois, the land of horrid tornados, so she comes by her weather courage honestly. Annelle <annelle45 a yahoo com> Ocala, FL USA - Friday, July 16, 2004 at 20:47:18 (PDT)

It was June of 1987. We were having a bad thunderstorm. My mom, dad, sister and I were all sitting in the living room waiting for the storm to pass. I was about ready to get up and get something to drink when all of a sudden, there was this blueish-greenish ball about the size of a grapefruit coming through the dining room window. It floated around the dining room for a few seconds and then just as fast as it had entered, it exited through the phone with a loud cracking noise. It ruined the phone when it exited, but it did nothing to the window when it entered. This is the only time we have ever seen anything like this. I am just glad I didn't get up when I was going to. I would have been in the dining room when it came through the window. Sharon Vassar, MI USA - Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at 08:08:14 (PDT)

Ball Lightning ?!? 3 June 2004 2230 hrs 8 Miles NE of Raleigh Durham Airport While out walking my dog I often gaze at the night sky. I'm familiar with most of the air traffic and flight patterns in our area. None have exhibited the characteristics that I will describe. Tonight I saw a "small" bluish-white sphere cross the sky from South to North, above the trees, on a level but slightly wavering trajectory. The altitude was difficult to estimate, somewhere above the tree line (40 feet ?) and the low scattered cloud cover. The "diameter" of the object is best described as equal to the separation of an inch between thumb and forefinger - at arms length. The object traversed the visible horizon (defined by the gap in the tree line over the road) of about 30 degrees of arc in about two seconds. There was no sound associated with the movement. Hope you find this sighting and description interesting. I found it quite spooky and located your site after a brief Google search of descriptions for ball lightening and St Elmo's fire. Regards, J.Mentha John Mentha <hmentha a nc rr com> Raleigh, NC USA - Thursday, June 03, 2004 at 19:57:33 (PDT)

Me and two of my friends were walking to this abandoned house because poeple kept aying it was haunted. When we got to it we saw a ig ball of yellowish light. There are trees all around the house. In fact, you can't even see the house from the street. The ball of light came straight to the ground and seemed to go into it without making any sound. We thought it was a ghost but now I'm convinced its ball lightning. Matthew Wells <tawnya.wells a sbcglobal net> Denison, TX USA - Thursday, June 03, 2004 at 17:59:08 (PDT)

This happened in the mid 1960s. I had just taken off in a C-130 heading for Berlin taking a group of Army Rangers to the city. There were no thunderstorms in the area but there was a solid overcast at about 2500 feet. As were about to enter the overcast there was a loud bang and seconds later the Loadmaster reported that a ball of fire had rolled down the cargo compartment and went out the back of the aircraft. No damage at all to the rear cargo door. However, a hole was blown in the radar nose about the size of a soft ball. The radar was totally fried. After we landed at Templehof I questioned the Rangers and they all had the same story. They were sitting along the fuselage on both sides of the aircraft and the ball went right in front of their feet. The raydome and the radar had to be replaced. Lt. Col. Ralph R Waters <ralphwp51 a aol com> Frankfurt, Germany - Sunday, May 30, 2004 at 06:06:57 (PDT)

It was about 1930. Some friend and I were playing near a barn. The second story window/door was open. Someone said look at that. There was a round orangish ball of fire that went into the barn and set the hay on fire. The barn burned down. No one was injured and I remember no sound. Lt. Col. Ralph R Waters <ralphwp51 a aol com> Oak Harbor, OH USA - Sunday, May 30, 2004 at 05:58:43 (PDT)

This took place on Beacon Hill, Boston, summer of 1992. I was with two friends walking at about 7:30-8:00 at night. It seemed as if there was going to be a thunderstorm soon. We were walking directly down the center of a narrow street with brownstone apartments rising three or four stories on each side. I heard a sound that was not unlike bacon sizzling on a pan and looked up to see some light coming from on top of the apartments on the right side of the street. As I looked a ball about 2 feet in diameter came over the roof on the right and passed over the street at an alarmingly slow and steady pace. The ball was colored green and blue and perhaps white and red (hard to remember). The colors swirled around ball as if it were liquid. The sound stayed monotone and the ball itself passed-over in no hurry and in a straight line. It was amazing. Daniel Paquette Boston, MA USA - Monday, May 24, 2004 at 10:29:05 (PDT)

...it was at year 2003, i was about to have my last year exam next year, and my mum tucked me into bed earlier. there was a heavy downpour with lightning. My sister and i switch on the aircon and lied down on our bed. Suddenly, a ball of light that is a bit red and blue, i can't see clearly, sort of explode in front of us, we were very shock and stare at that thing for a while, 20 sec to 30 sec later, we recovered and screamed. My mum came rushing in and say it is just our imagination. We nod our head but inside us, we thought it is a ghost. Now, year 2004, i was studying ball lightning for my science assignment, then i notice whatever i saw that night seems to be ball lightning, but if it is a ball lightning...why is my sister and i not a least bit hurt? Till now, the mystery still remains, and i hope someone could explain to us....and....is there suppose to be ball lightning in singapore???? Chan Li Yi <Snowfrostie a hotmail com> Woodlands, - Singapore - Monday, May 24, 2004 at 06:12:54 (PDT)

I've got two instances of electrical phenomena I've witnesses. While both resembling "ball lightning", neither-or at least in one case, was directly storm related. In the fall of 1981, I was in a friends' basement in Rochester, NH on a half-day from school that the city did once a month at the time. We were bored, and being young and stupid started playing with an overhead incadescent bulb fixture. My friend eventually poked an old fuse, the ones that kind of resemble shotgun shells, into the empty socket. He did this a few times miraculously before closing the circuit. When he finally did there was a loud zap and a modest shower of sparks which tumbled onto his clothes and the cement floor. Both of us unhurt, laughed it off and decided to move on to something else. But I turned to look, and we were surprised to see about a dozen egg-sized and shaped "drips" falling sort of slowly, almost drifting, to the basement floor. They were not quite brilliant, electric blue colored, but bright enough to be noticed from the corner of your eye. They reminded me of the mantles of a Coleman lamp before they go out. When they hit the floor, they almost bounced around a bit like a slow-mo superball before seemingly absorbing into the old cement floor with a quiet "zipping" sound. I wonder if the dampness of the cellar had anything to do with it. The second instance came in August of 1998. Living in Dover, NH with 2 roomates. It was another oppresive night of like a 2-week heatwave, and there were severe weather alerts issued for the central New England area. Around 11:00PM, we were hanging out in the living room, playing PS games, fans blasting, having a few beers trying to beat the heat. Simultaneously, very nearby there was a sharp, high-pitched explosion and half the city went black. Knowing there was one of those mailbox-sized transformers literally right outside our kitchen window as we were third-floor dwellers, about a 7-foot reach from the sill. We got not quite terribly nervous as we peeked around the corner into the kitchen. Verifying that the transformer had not lethally exploded-sending PCBs into our living room. We had a laugh and decided to go for a walk to find the source. Before doing so-I stumbled blindly into the bathroom (flipping the switch, of course!) to do my business before leaving. As I looked up-I was surprised to see faintly-but distinctly, a blue haze inside the overhead fixture, even though the lights had been out for close to three minutes by now. I called the guys in to show them-trying to finish off my aim in the dark. It eventually faded-but the oddest thing is it almost turned the fan over. Every few seconds-the fan in the fixture would try to kick over. We found out that what had happened was less than a block away, an insulator on medium-tension lines had let go. We watched for about 90 minutes as the Public Service crew fixed the pole and lines. They were friendly-and the lineman even gave me the bottom half of the fractured insulator. He called what I might have seen in the bathroom "residual light". A cool souveneir from a memorable night. Oddly-about 1:30AM the thunderstorms rolled in-and the lights never went out again that night. Matt M. <mattydred a yahoo com> Rochester, NH USA - Thursday, May 20, 2004 at 11:59:30 (PDT)

Back in 1985 I was standing in my kitchen kneading bread when I fell the hair on my arms and the back of my neck raise. I looked just in time to see a solid white ball come shooting out of the wall pass just a couple of inches from my face and hit my TV. My TV wasn't hurt but you could hear it crackling. That wasn't the only time I ever saw such a thing. I saw one when I was a little girl about 5 years old back in Colorado,Texas. Several of us kids were playing hide and seek outside when we saw one emerge from an old abandon house, it shot straight up in the air and then went offto the southeast. I always wondered what caused that but it was sure alot of fun scaring the dickens out of my little cousins telling them the old house was haunted.HA HA --------------------------------------- Yolanda Yolanda Archambault <smteddytears a comcast net> New Bedford, Ma. USA - Wednesday, May 19, 2004 at 05:45:39 (PDT)

It was back in 1980. I was 43 by then. A fire ball appeared in front of us, not bigger than a tennis ball, all red and yellow, crossed all the hall, entered the house (the door was open) and at a mid height of 1 meter from the floor, it kept moving for some 8 meters, reaching where the kitchen was, it had to turn left and, right there where the frig was, it just burst into the floor. It left all of us, including my father whom was in the dinning room, with a dry throat for 3 to 4 hours. The hole it made on the floor was 25 centometers wide by 5 deep. All the floor debris, flew around the kitchen. Someone at that time told us it had been a fire ball explosion which generated some 20,000 volts of energy. (?) Liberto <brunc a servicam com> Valencia, Spain - Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 00:58:40 (PDT)

On a rainy night several years ago my friend and I decided to go out for pizza. We were driving from Hanover to Savanna on route 84 south. It had been raining but not real hard and as we were driving along we were chatting away. All of the sudden I saw a flash of lightning directly in front of my car. I ended up running into it and everything went dead in my car for a fraction of a second. All of my lights went off for a second. My driving lights went off and all of the pannel lights went out. I looked at my friend and said " What the hell was that? " He told me that he thought we had just hit ball lightning. I had never heard of that before but he went on to explain it to me. He told me that it was a very rare thing that most people never see or experience. The whole experience lasted only a fraction of a second but it was the neatest experience that I had ever been through. Ball lightning definitely exists and I'm proof of that. I just thank God that my experience was a good one because the experience of others that I have read here have been very bad but my experience was all positive. Michael A Fobber <greengrass2us a yahoo.es> Hanover, IL USA - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 22:59:27 (PDT)

i am a 13 year old [at the time of may 2004] who witnessed ball lightning. i live in pittsburgh pennsylvania. as i was laying in my bed on a night with a severe storm, i saw out my window what looked like a yellow ball in the sky. a few days later i told my friends "the other night i saw a lightning bolt that looked like a circle". my friend said "that was ball lightning". i never heard of it until that second. and that is my story. devin canovali <kevin711 a your-house com> pittsburgh, pa USA - Monday, May 17, 2004 at 18:00:47 (PDT)

well...it was about 3 in the morning i woke up to a lightning storm...i was sitting up cause i like to watch storms pass by. as soon as i went to lay down i saw a blinding light and i couldnt stop staring at it and then about 2 minutes of watching it and it floating around it blew up and let out a huge explosion in which made me hide under my covers...this expeiriance happend back in like...1999 maybe earlier... Joel A sign, MI USA - Monday, May 10, 2004 at 18:13:41 (PDT)

Ball Lightning- I viewed one while living in the Ozarks Of Arkansas. Did not know what it was till years after. As I recall was a clear sky however may have been cloudy but definatly no rain (1round 1980) Red fireball with sparks flying out of it. I was at least 30 feet away and it was extreamly slow moving Hit power line and disappeared apparently knocking it out they were out next day to repair it. Size was huge maybe basketball size however may have been smaller Ray Gunter <graffik a pacbell net> San Jose, CA USA - Monday, May 10, 2004 at 02:32:48 (PDT)

Ball Lightning My wife and I were just coming home from my brothers house taking I-80 heading east, just south of Chicago. We were watching a storm in front of us and were enjoying several lightning strikes. Then the sky lit up and a ball of lightning flew across the sky. It was very high up, just below the clouds. It never made it to the ground, but shot in a straight line for about 1 second. Dan <dbierma a d168.org> USA - Sunday, May 09, 2004 at 19:19:19 (PDT)

One night on ambush in Vietnam during the heavy month of Febuary I had something happen I can not account for. After half a night sitting cross legged along a path it was a black as black could be. Nothing was visible. Then one after another these gaint balls of Red, Green, Blue, light were shaped like a comet with long tails from where the light started to a point in front of me where the ball exploded and disappeared. The odd thing was that as they roared through the area in front of my position, they lite up the countryside showing everything about me. Including the other men sitting near me. The next morning no one else reported seeing them. They were so bright I thought my position had been given away. It was all I could do to keep from jumping up and running. HRAdams <HRAdams a adelphia net> Highland, Cal USA - Saturday, May 08, 2004 at 21:19:14 (PDT)

My mother, who lives in Harpersville, ALabana saw what we belive to have been a lightning ball two days ago. Lightning was flashing in the distance. She was standing in the kitchen window about 6:30 pm when a ball of energy came from the direction of the lightning, over trees several hundred feet away. She was mesmerized at the site and stood watching it travel in a horizontal path. She then realized it was headed directly toward her. She ducked down behind the cabinets and when she finally raised her head it was gone. She describes it as being light, multicolored in the center and red around the edges. It was larger than a softball. She was alone and whatever it was, disturbed her very badly. After reading reports, it sounds like it was a lightning ball. B BETTS <bettsbet a earthlink net> JACKSONVILLE, FL USA - Sunday, May 02, 2004 at 21:04:33 (PDT)

As I was driving to work this afternoon, an orange donut sized spherical object, travelling extremly quickly downwards from the dark cloudy sky, impacted with a exploding sound onto the front wing of my car causing a 10cm diameter, 2.5cm deep dent. This a colleague reliably informs me having calmy discounted an more rational explanations was clearly a case for ball lightening. I am worried my insurance company won't believe me please reply with similar stories. Alison Connelly, Charge Nurse Intensive Care, Dunfermline, Scotland <alison.connelly a faht.scotnhs co uk> United Kingdom - Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 08:35:00 (PDT)

Driving on a paved road in farm country around 8:45am on a completely overcast but calm day, I suddenly noticed a bright golden orb about 300 feet away, about two feet above the ditch on the roadside. It drifted along the ditch for about 15 feet, lowering itself to about one foot above the ditch before quickly dissipating. The whole event took between 3 and 4 seconds. The first time I ever witnessed such a thing. The size of it I would estimate at the size of a cantaloupe. Laurie Jane Hillsburgh, ON Canada - Monday, April 26, 2004 at 08:21:21 (PDT)

I was about 6 years old, lived in Fresno, CA. It was getting close to evening and a storm had recently passed, when my brother and I were sitting on top of our swing set. I was looking over our brick wall to see if I could see the rail road tracks (which would be West), then I heard my brother tell me (in the voice that was not his, at least it sounded very odd) look over there (North) and you will see lightening with a circle and a dot in the middle. So, I turned my head to the direction he was pointing (East) and I saw a lightening shaped as a circle with a dot in the middle. The whole shape was just above all the trees and way off in the distance (no part of this circle was touching the ground,trees or objects), but, large enough to see this enormous lightening shaped like a cirle with a dot in the middle. I was so scared. I crawled down our swing set with just one hand and had my other hand covering my eyes. As I was running back into my house,I didn't hear any thunder after I saw the lightening. Now that years have past..it still feels like it was just yesterday when I my expeirence with lightening that was shaped like a cirle with a dot in the middle. This burnt image in my head, seems not to go away any time soon. I am really hoping that some else out there kindda had the same experience as what I did. K Martin <rkmart a ev1 net> Houston, TX USA - Thursday, April 22, 2004 at 12:07:11 (PDT)

Ball Lightning....I think.. My children reported seeing an orange ball of light about 8 feet above the ground in a small grove of trees behind my house. The ball was, according to them, about 1.5 feet in diameter.No electric lines are near the area. A brief thunderstorm passed through this area just before the occurence. The ball (according to the children) went down through this small grove (trees densely packed...mostly saplings) and then traveled horizontally about 20 feet before exploding with a very loud bang. It was loud enough to make the dog hide under my computer desk for the whole evening. This area (western NY State about a mile south of Lake Ontario) is known for its thunderstorms, but this is a first for me. Sound like ball lightning to you? Greg <zorgblats a hotmail com> Kent, NY USA - Tuesday, April 20, 2004 at 20:28:28 (PDT)

i was about 13 years old and playing with a group of about 5 friends near the back of our houses (i am 37 now.)i saw a glowing white ball with what looked like a tail to me at the time. i only saw it for a fraction of a second as it disappeared over the roof of my friends house. it looked about the size of a football. i was really excited and asked everyone else 'did you see that?' all of them had been looking the other way so did not see. i ran to the front of the house to see where it had landed but there was nothing there. my friends were not that interested and i think may have thought i had made it up especially as there was no evidence of it. i did not know about ball lightening until many years later when i realised that that was what i had seen. tracey whitehill england - Monday, April 19, 2004 at 13:54:37 (PDT)

In the summer of 2000 me and about 10 other people witnessed an odd sight. We were all sitting outside when a giant ball of light appeared and instintainiously seemed to erupt and cause the entire hemosphere to illuminate. i didn't know if this would be considered "ball lightning" because it happened on a completly clear night. Melissa <xmelissax320 a hotmail com> Branson, mo USA - Saturday, April 17, 2004 at 01:49:09 (PDT)

I have seen many fierce lightning storms in my time and have almost been struck by lightning on 3 occasions. I run to watch lighting every time. I used to live in Brisbane, Australia in 2001 (sub tropical climate- many storms) and one day at around noon a pretty average lightning storm formed right over my neighbourhood. (every storm I have witnessed I use the formular of counting after the flash to the thunder clap to see how close it is etc etc) So basically this particular storm started right on top of my house which I have never experinced before, usually I'm caught on the fringe (even though some of the lightning can come VERY close) of the storm, so this time it was different because I was right in it but I still say it wasn't anything out of the ordinary as far as storms go, also there was no real wind and no rain, but it was very hot, cloudy and humid - summer. Then while running around my house to get the best view I reached my back verranda at the exact same time a bolt of lightning flashed and thunder clapped together over my house towards my backyard (I saw the bolt nearly hit a large tree in my back yard) then instantly very low to the ground (2-3 feet in the air) and next to my metal pole and mesh backyard fence (about 15-20 metres away) I saw a ball (the size of a soccerball) of, what looked to be lightning, float slowly across my yard for about 2-3 seconds then just disapate in an instant. Funnily enough my very first reaction was that a bolt of lightning was coming straight for me horizontally and at ground level, I even braced for the impact (started to put my arm up to shield myself) and I was also bracing myself for the thunder clap!! Then I RELAXED because I new I was witnessing ball lightning and I wasn't going to die! Phew its just ball lightning.....BALL LIGHTNING!!!...so I freaked out again, funny huh, but true. The ball made no sound that I could hear but my ears were ringing at the time and the thunder clap was still doing its thing. It also looked very unstable with a slight pluse to it , and it was giving off a couple off little sparks, hear and there. I got the distinct feeling that it would of made a fizzing sound and be very dangerous to touch. The ball seemed to be residue electrical energy left over from the lightning bolt a split second before. No damage was done to the fence and also I'm almost sure it actually either passed though the mesh fence or originated from the fence, but I can't be possitive because so much was happening at one time. Please reply. Cheers. Matt <mattdogga a hotmail com> hobart, tas australia - Thursday, April 08, 2004 at 02:07:04 (PDT)

This is another second hand report; This one is from my Great-Aunt (my grandmother's sister). Like my grandma, she is also conservative and doesn't believe in strange phenomenon. My aunt was driving from her home in Reserve, NM to see my grandma in Springerville, AZ about an hour away. You have to drive over some mountains and through some canyons to get from one location to the other. Some of the canyons are pretty tight. Well, late one night my aunt was driving towards Springerville and was in one of the canyons. As she rounded a blind corner she had to stomp on her brakes because there were over 100 elk in the middle of the road. Elk around there are large (1000+ lbs) and you don't want to run into one. She stopped and the elk were milling around on the road, obviously very agitated. She said they seemed scared, as though they had all been chased by a bobcat or something. She tried honking her horn and flashing her lights, but they wouldn't budge. They would run a few yards and then stop and turn around. It was a tight canyon, so she couldn't pull around them. Then she noticed a very bright illumination coming from behind her. It was bright enough to cast her shadow on the dash. As she looked behind her to see what it was, the light source flew straight overhead, over her vehicle and the elk in front of her. It moved fast and dissapeared beyond the edge of the canyon and she couldn't see it anymore. As soon as it went overhead, the elk went crazy and began trying to run up the canyon wall on one side and off the cliff on the other. The cliff is a fairly small drop there (no idea if any died). The road was soon clear and she drove on to Springerville. Could have been a meteor I suppose. But there was no sound, and that illumination was behind her for a little too long, the way she tells it. Who knows? L. Coffelt AZ USA - Sunday, March 28, 2004 at 16:31:43 (PST)

I saw ball lightening during a thunder storm about 5 years ago. I was up in my room sitting on my bed with my partner talking and watching the lightening outside when suddenly I saw a bright ball travelling towards the house. I shouted "run" to my partner and jumped up but she just looked at me and said "what?" It must have hit the house or near it because all the power went out for about 3 seconds and then turned back on. It was very strange. I knew instantly that it was ball lightening because I had heard about it before on television. David Kemp Milton Keynes, UK - Monday, February 23, 2004 at 05:53:24 (PST)

At approx. 2am in July of 1989 I was woken up by someone who was watching two spheres of light about the size of a softball hovering outside a 2nd story window. I watched these two balls move down and hover above our two cars, then above a garage roof, over our lawn and then it rose approx. 20 feet into the air and go into the woods, amongst a densly wooded forest to disappear over a swamp further in the woods, they did not go into a direct line of flight, they kinda rose up and down very slightly. This whole event took approx 5 min. There were no electrical storms or any other usual events that night that I can connect this occurance. To this day I still am not sure what I saw. Bea Hoffmann <beahoffmann_4 a hotmail com> Brewster, NY USA - Sunday, February 22, 2004 at 13:17:13 (PST)

Re:- Ball Lightning or Earth Lights. This happened many years ago but I feel it may be important. My mother was doing the laundry and she reached over a plastic laundry basket to switch the power to the washing machine on(or off). A blue ball appeared, burn`t a hole in the laundry basket, floated out the door and past my bedroom window which is where I saw it. I have always wondered whether some how my mother created the ball. Perhaps there was a static build up in the laundry which some how reacted with the power when it was switched on. I`m not a scientist so I don`t know. M y point is if my mother created it, it was done so very simply and thats why I think this may be important. Yours Sincerely........S. Day nb. This occurred in a very stable part of our continent. Swan Hill, in N.W Victoria Steven Day <bornoz1960 a hotmail com> TALLEBUDGERA, QLD AUSTRALIA - Friday, February 20, 2004 at 14:21:46 (PST)

I was on a cruise in the gulf of Mexico, somewhere inbetween the Caymen Islands and Cozumel Mexico. After dinner that night, my boyfriend and I decided to go to bed early so we would be well rested for our time in Mexico. Around 11:00pm I was lying in bed looking out our stateroom window when I saw an orange light falling from the sky. At first I thought it was a falling star so I sat up to watch if it would fall into the ocean or wherever and after I sat up the light shot back up rapidly and back down and sideways and flew off out of my view. I asked my boyfriend if I was what I just saw and he said he saw it too and he had watched something on the discovery channel about it being balls of gas from the atmosphere, has anyone heard anything about that before? I have no idea what it was but it was the weirdest thing I have ever seen. However it did make being in the middle of the ocean a little more exciting! Noel <QtNoel603 a aol com> Redding, ca USA - Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:35:55 (PST)

The year was 1982. I worked for a family business putting in pumps with a well rig. I was about 17 years old. My friend and I had just pulled a pump out of the ground in Newdale, Idaho (near Rexburg or St. Anthony). A lightning storm could be seen in the distance. We decided to hurry putting the well rig boom down to be safe. As we loaded the equipment and drove out onto the road, a large glowing ball (approximately 3 feet in diameter) was hovering in front of the truck about 20 feet away. We were driving towards the ball at about 15 mph. We slowed down and watched it bounce down the road like a beach ball in the wind. Then, suddenly it hopped onto some power lines and raced like lightning (no pun intended) away from us and along the lines. Later that evening, we discussed what we had seen with friends in Rexburg, Idaho. They said there were several people in Rexburg that claimed seeing something similar there. Greg Housley Idaho, ID USA - Thursday, February 12, 2004 at 14:52:52 (PST)

I would be very interested if anyone could tell me what I saw on two occasions some years ago. I am a great believer in the powers of the mind, have an unshakeable belief in an All Powerful Being, Whom I call GOD. I am at odds however with the teachings of the so called Christian Church in that I believe that the dead can contact us, having seen several people whom I know to be ?dead?. I have always been interested in all things to do with the paranormal. Although I say this myself, I am extremely intelligent and have a very high IQ; from my earliest memories I have been aware of things that are not apparent to others, eg. what is going to happen to me or others. I can also heal various ills in animals and humans In about November 1973, I was walking over to a west facing window to close the curtains at about 4.30pm. ? the late afternoon was calm, the sky clear and the sun was setting in a red glow. I was alone in the house. Between the window and a fitted cupboard to my left was a cream coloured wall and I suddenly became aware of a golden coloured globe floating and turning slowly in a clockwise direction, about three feet from the ceiling. I can only liken it to a mirrored ballroom globe, but it was about the size of a large grapefruit. There was no smell or heat emanating from it and I just stood there and looked at it and my most strong memory is that I was NOT afraid and that I thought it extremely beautiful. I became aware that it was giving off reflections all around the room (just as a ballroom mirrored light would do). It must have been there for about three or four minutes and then just gradually faded away. I had no sense of anything trying to communicate with me. I had the same experience about three years later, in a different house, on a summer evening, in broad daylight; again the weather was calm, slightly cloudy but with visible sunshine. I was again alone in the house. There was nothing outside either window or in the room to give off a reflection. Both of these occurrences were with exactly the same sighting and again I was not afraid. I do not think that it could have been the sun causing the phenomena as the sunlight did not reach the parts of the rooms where I saw the globes and there was nothing for the sun to reflect off. I have searched everywhere to find an explanation ? ball lightning does NOT fit the happenings; there had been no storms or bad weather and neither, really do the pictures of psychic orbs of light. (mine were absolutely solid and giving off reflections). IF IT WAS BALL LIGHTNING, WHY WOULD I SEE EXACTLY THE SAME THING ON BOTH OCCASIONS? UFO?s do not seem to fit either. The reason I have written to you now is that I have suddenly been unable to stop thinking about these unexplained happenings and believe I ought to find out if anyone has seen the same thing. Judy Lugg <judylugg a hotmail com> Wolverhampton, United Kingdom - Sunday, February 01, 2004 at 11:46:41 (PST)

Please do not use my name. Thank you. Lightning Ball: 1. In fall of either 1969 or 1970 (I'm not sure which at this remove, but rather think'69), I had just come home from a night job. It was probably around 1:am. It was raining, and I had a bay window facing east in my living room 2nd fl. apartment. There were old-fashioned wide metal Venetian blinds in the two side windows. The side windows were the only windows open (about 8"), though the blinds were down to keep out rain. I had a record player & speakers in the bay on the carpeted floor, & had put on an LP & sat down on the carpet to listen to it, and a ball of light about the size of a grapefruit, maybe a bit smaller, shot through the northeast window, right through the blinds, and out the southeast window. It happened so fast I didn't believe I saw it at first, but then smelled that metallic 'ozone' smell in the air, and figured I was not going nuts. By the bye, I'm female, if that makes any difference. Lightning Ball: 2. This happened in the 1970's, about '76 or '78, I think. I lived in a 3rd (top) floor apartment with a small brick balcony in front facing east, which had an iron railing set into the brick wall around the east and south sides of it. The north & west sides of the balcony were the brick walls of the building. The north wall had a door to the living room, & the west wall had a window into my bedroom. The balcony looked out towards the street & a street light directly in front on the grass median strip and a Chinese elm tree just to the north of the balcony. In my bedroom I had an antique iron bedstead, the foot of which faced east, and the head against the west wall of the bedroom. At this time, I habitually slept with my arm under my ear & above my head, gripping one of the bars of the headboard of the bedstead. One night, there was a terrific thunderstorm, which I could hear, though asleep, until lightning struck the iron rail of the balcony outside my bedroom window with a terrific noise. Instantly, there were seven pops (pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop) with accompanying sparks in the knuckles of my right hand which was gripping the bedstead. I have never slept that way since. There was no damage to the iron railing outside, nor myself, that I could see or feel, but I can still remember the feel of those pops in my right hand knuckles. I told these stories to an older (male) friend (now dead) of mine some years later and he said he'd seen lightning balls twice in his life. Both times in the frame house he & his wife & children lived in. Once, during a summer storm, a lightning ball came down the flue of the stove in the kitchen, ran around the circumference of the kitchen floor, then ran back up the flue again. They could remark no signs of its passage except that the clock on the stove never worked since then. The other time he said he was sitting on his front porch during a rainstorm, and a lightning ball ran down the utility pole next door, rolled across the grass & the porch, and dissappeared into some bushes. Both times the lightning ball was about grapefruit size. C. N. Chicago, IL USA - Friday, January 30, 2004 at 18:29:56 (PST)

On 21st of January at 9:30 PM another ?fireball? has been observed in Iran in a village named ?Yengeh Deh? near Meshkin Shahr in Ardabil state . 2 children and a woman have seen a bright white shining ball above the village which was bigger than a full moon and it has been disappeared after a while. It was a rainy, stormy night with a lot of thunders. Simultaneously the roof and a part of a house have been damaged. A part of covering of roof has disappeared completely and a wall and a door have been broken with a loud sound. People at home have not seen any unordinary light or heat, and nobody has been Damaged but electricity in village has broken for a night. Mohaddesseh Azimlu <mohaddesseh a yahoo com> tehran, Iran - Sunday, January 25, 2004 at 11:18:17 (PST)

i was out side under our pogola with my brother alex waching a eletricall storm when a ball of lightning apeard out of now were it was a redish purplish courle with sparks flying arond nit and coming from it it seemed to be 1-3 meters wide i think then ther was a masive crak of thunder and it exsploded later we sore a nother ball lightning in the same storem Tim - Saturday, January 24, 2004 at 15:36:52 (PST)

original report by Pouria Nazemi and Iman Naderi. you can find more details,photoes nad maps in: http://olkhov.narod.ru/gr1997.htm#20040102 http://nojum net/news/newse.asp?newsid=17 On January 2, 2004 a woman in the house woke up before 5 am local time (1.30 am UTC), because her baby was crying and she was going to get milk to him. After a short time she saw that the space of room became bright, but she did not see the source of the light. She inclines to think that it was outside her home. She says that her impression is that the source of the light was approaching the ground and closer to her house with increasing of illlumination in her room (however there is some possibility that the illumination of the room at least partly was caused by glowing of the air inside the room, but currently this can not be proved now). After she saw the light for about 2-4 seconds, the ground became to shake. About 2-3 seconds later the shaking increased significantly, and an explosion occured, which damaged the house. Other people in the house (a family of 8) woke up with the explosion (they said that they were thrown up from ground with the power of the ground shaking). When a father of the family and his great son woke up and felt that the ground continued to shake, they guided other members of family out of the house. Within 4-5 seconds the great son ran to the yard before other family to switch off gas, and other members of the family followed him in a few seconds. In the yard they saw a very bright red fireball (about 2 meter in diametre) that was firing in the yard at the height of 1.5 to 2.5 meter above the ground ground. It looked like a small volcano, and many small bright particles were falling out from it. Also they felt a kind of heat on their faces. The great son, who was the first in the yard felt it especially strong (they can't remember feeling of the heat being inside the house, because they were in shock). The feeling of the heat continued with the great son for several days later at least. The great son felt heat on his face like a kind of sunburn. The ground shaking continued in the yard too. Members of the family who woke up with the sound of the explosion said that ground shake accompanied with low sounds continued for about 10 sec. in total. And no any smell. Finally the shaking stopped, and the fireball disappeared. Mohaddesseh Azimlu <mohaddesseh a yahoo com> Tehran, Iran - Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 15:11:34 (PST)

This is a report about the ? fireball ? which appeared on 23rd of May 2003 in Kalaack, a village near Marzan Abad , in north of Iran. Mahboubeh Rda?ei sent it to ?Nojum? (astronomy) magazine 3 weeks after the event. I bring the main part of her report. ? I heard about seeing a fireball in a village near Marzan abad that has destroyed two big old trees; so I decided to the village before local people annihilate the remnants. At the entrance of the village was a vast field that was surrounded by big old trees but two of them had been destroyed completely, like that something strong had collided it. I asked people about the event and they told that it was a stormy, terrible day. It was raining heavily and thunders flashed the sky continuously. Suddenly we heard a very loud and terrible sound. They had seen a white shining fireball which was coming from the south, and after colliding the trees continued its way. After tat the electricity and phone connections had been broken for a few hours, and electric al instruments in near houses had been damaged. Some people had a little different opinion: about 4 o?clock in the evening they saw a red sharpening flash coming from the south, something like a burning sword, that destroyed the trees with a loud sound and then after flew over the houses to the north and disappeared. I saw and examined the trees and the area around myself. The broken pieces of branches and wood was scattered around but I couldn?t find any evidence of burning or ashes. People said that because of passing the ?Diamond? the earth had been quaking. They had looked for the valuable diamond! It was interesting that such a diamond was something familiar in their believes and they thought that it goes until striking the earth, and then goes inside until it reaches water. Mohaddesseh Azimlu <mohaddesseh a yahoo com> tehran, Iran - Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 14:53:10 (PST)

I live in Tyler, Texas now but this occurred actually in a small extension of Lake Wright Patman, Jackson Creek Park to be exact, near Douglassville, Texas. Anyways, we always got really bad thunderstorms at my house in the country, and we always lost our power. This was a very common occurrence so usually when we lost our power we would go to make sure that there were no tree limbs on the electric pole so that we could report it to the company and get if fixed. But this one time was VERY odd. It was summer or sometime between 1988-1993, sorry cannot be more specific because I was very young at the time. But we lost our power during a storm one time and I decided that I would go out to check the pole and as I walked around the back of my trailer, I noticed a bright orangish/red light seeming to just slowly "float" through the air along our barbed wire fence near the electric pole. It bobbed up and down along the barbed wire fence line and had very irrattic movements, but always stayed close to the metal. Then all of a sudden it flashed and disappeared into the thin air. I had no idea what it was back then, but seems to me now that it had to have been BL. I have never since seen anything like this, but would love to. Feel free to ask me about this. Stuart Tomlin <stuart0908 a yahoo com> Tyler, Tx USA - Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 05:19:27 (PST)

Ball Lightning! Was working as security guard this past summer, want to say the date was in June, but don't remember. Time was about 2300hrs and it was absolutely as incredible occurance of huge bolts of streak lightning as I remember seeing. Am 54 so have seen quite a bit of lightning, but had not seen ball lightning until that night. In fact, an amazing aside to my observation of the phenomena is that only a couple weeks previous I had been discussing said phenomena with some friends, asserting that it was either very rare or myth. Here is exactly what I remember. The lightning had let up very significantly. Almost stopped. I opened the door of my truck as I was overdue to do a foot patrol where I was working. Just as I opened the door there was a "curtain" of at least dozens of lightning bolts that just "fell" cloud to ground. That was pretty amazing in itself. Just as that light show stopped, came a zinger of perfectly straight light, or electricity, moving extremely fast in front of clouds, then obscured by clouds, then in front of clouds again. It seems it was slightly larger that a bright comet and it did streak like a comet as opposed to looking like a firey basketball hurtling its way slowly along like in Jason and the Astronuts. No, this was very fast and a very, very long streak of light. It looked powerfull. The visual itself was really not so spectacular, but having seen it for the first time and recognizing unmistakingly what it was, and that much power in our atmosphere. So awsome as to be impossible to describe! Daniel Steckel Charlotte , NC USA - Saturday, January 17, 2004 at 20:14:23 (PST)

When I was around 7 (I'm 31 now, but still remember it clearly) we lived in a small cottage set amongst essentially open fields on the Isle of Man (in the United Kingdom). Aside from a small primary school just across the road, there were no other buildings within a few hundred metres and whilst the cottage had electricity, there were certainly no major power lines in the area. I'd woken up during the night and as I couldn't get back to sleep, woke my parents and got into their bed between them. After they had fallen back to sleep, I lay awake propped up slightly against the head-board looking down the bed and out of the window which was around 30cm off the bedroom floor. We were on the upstairs floor of the cottage, the actual floor was probably some 2.5 metres off the ground. I saw a ball of pretty much white light probably around 10cm in diameter come into view from below the window. It seemed to follow the wall and came in through the closed (single glazed) window. It then followed the wall down to the floor, must have moved along the carpet (I couldn't see this from my position and couldn't bring myself to move) and re-appeared at the foot of the bed. It moved slowly up the centre of the bed towards me floating just above the duvet cover, but around half way up veered off slightly to the left and actually disappeared into my fathers open mouth. The whole incident probably lasted around a minute. My father was completely unaware of the experience and didn't wake as a result of it. When he woke the following morning he was fine. The ball made no noise and just disappeared without a sound. The glow lit up the room slightly, but it was not an intense light, quite soft, and the ball was "solid" but soft almost fluffy around the edges, it certainly did not have a smooth surface. I don't recall their being a particular smell associated with it. I was absolutely petrified and stated motionless for several minutes before waking my mother up and her telling me it was all a dream and to go back to sleep. It certainly wasn't a dream, and it was only when recounting this to a friend recently that they suggested it may have been ball lightening, which prompted a quick search for the subject on Google. Having read a number of posts on this site, it certainly does sound like the same thing. It's something I still remember vividly almost 24 years later. Chris Wilson <ciw42 a hotmail com> Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom - Friday, January 16, 2004 at 18:56:46 (PST)

Ball Lightening? report in my house: I live in an old historic granite and field stone house in Chester County, PA. I was at the kitchen counter when I saw a glowing fire ball, about the size of a small grapefruit, suddenly come through a window about 20 feet directly across the room from where I was standing. It came towards me at an odd speed (slow for lightening) about six feet from the floor and hit an antique metal butchers rack of hooks hanging in front of me! (I had metal pots hanging on it but it hit the old iron rack part) The fire ball broke apart when it hit the metal rack and dripped down onto the vinyl counter like it was a liquid -making a hot sizzeling sound with each drop as it landed on the counter. (Psst psst psst psst psst) No ashes remained. I can still see it traveling slowly across the room in a straight line to that rack. The room has low light, low open beam ceiling and entered an eastern window. I do not remember a storm brewing and think it was a sunny day in the mid-afternoon. My house is built where the old Warwick iron mines used to be and I heard that under the ground are many tunnels where they used to mine iron ore. It was so weird that I am not sure if anyone believes me but I saw this web sight and thought you may have insight on it. In 1970, I was also hit indirectly by lightening inside a builing. Lightening hit metal machinery I was standing next to during a sudden thunder storm and zapped over to me. I do not know if it is connected but I had trouble with watches stopping for many years. Janice I. Houck <Houckphoto a aol com> Elverson, PA USA - Thursday, January 08, 2004 at 10:48:11 (PST)

One night in the summer of 2001, I fell asleep on the couch during a storm. I woke up about 3:oo am and went to my bedroom, as I started to walk into the room, lightning struck and a ball of lightning came through my window. It was smaller than a basketball and had like what I call, blue colored fingers of lightning flashing through it. All of a sudden it shot across the room and hit a sconce on the wall knocking it to the floor. It was the neatest thing I had ever seen even though it only lasted a few seconds. The only reason I was concerned was that where it hit on the other side was my bathroom outlet. So I quickly ran in and turned the light on and ran out to see if any thing had happened. Thank goodness it didn't. To make sure I wasen't dreaming I left the sconce on the floor until I woke up the next morning. It was still there.....I told my brother about it and he belived me and said do you know not many people see that. So we got on the internet and he pulled up some pictures so he could see what I was talking about. There were a couple of pictures that were close. patty kansas city, ks USA - Friday, December 26, 2003 at 14:50:03 (PST)

my date and i were driving back to my house...it was during the night around ten. It was a small road, leading to a private neighborhood. When out of nowhere i see a white-glowing ball...fuzzy...i was leaning forward to see it and it was traveling towards us. I swerved out of the way to the left (it was on the right side) and seemed to miss it. It seemed to grow larger as i came closer to it in the car...maybe because i was growing closer? There was a bright yellow-green light in the middle (extremely bright). It was a little bigger than a basketball. We were in awe...and i had to stop the car. I had the weirdest feeling come over me...i had no clue what had just happened. I drove back around the block and looked around to see if i could see it again. It is strange...because i read stories and they all seem to see the lightning ball right after a thunderstorm. Although, i saw the ball four or five hours after a thunderstorm. Lauren & Chris <lan04d a fsu edu> Tallahassee, Florida USA - Tuesday, December 23, 2003 at 09:57:21 (PST)

Ball Lightning? Is that what I saw? It was summertime in the middle of a thunderstorm about noon and the year was probably 1984 because my daughter was a baby. We were in Houston helping my sister and her 4 year old daughter move. She lived in a townhouse that backed up to Champions Golf Course in Houston, Texas. She had gone to get us some lunch leaving my 8 year old step-daughter, my baby and me alone in the house. Thunder was booming and lightning was striking trees all over the golf course. Then there was a loud BOOM and I knew that the house had been struck. We were in a large open area consisting of den/kitchen/dining room combination and suddenly all the rooms were filled with moving balls of light. I was afraid we would be struck so I grabbed both kids and held them in my lap while we watched and prayed. The bright white light balls were about 8 to 10 inches in diameter and moved in straight lines from walls to ceiling and walls to walls. I don?t know exactly how many there were but it was like watching all the balls on a pool table bouncing off the walls at the same time until they ran out of momentum. It lasted for about 30 seconds. At the same time, my sister had just pulled into the drive with her daughter. They were afraid to get out of the car because they were watching balls of lightning bouncing along the roof of her house. She said it looked like the fourth of July. We found out later that the lightning had totally destroyed the electrical wiring in the house along with anything else that had still been plugged in. My sister lost a TV and a hair dryer. The air conditoning compressor and burglar alarm system was also "fried", but fortunately she was renting. Becky Pfeiffer <beckympv a hotmail com> Houston, TX USA - Saturday, December 20, 2003 at 22:48:35 (PST)

1.I have seen that ball lightning, i was in 6-7th grade (1977-78) driving with my mom and brother at around 10:00 pm, floating above someones backyard,(corner house) very large dim "antique white" colored one that just dissapeared quickly, it was right after a thunderstorm. (slightly odd shaped, 10ft. radius) 2. The "missing time" i had (the only one so far) happened 20 years ago (1983) afer leaving my girlfriends house around 9-9:30 pm. there was a good rural stretch between me and her house (we lived about 3 smallish cities apart) upon entering my area i would normaly stop at the gas station for a pack of cigarettes for the night, looking at the dash clock it was 11:30 pm, now it wouldnt normaly take more than a half hour to get home but this trip was more than 2 hours long. funny part about it was i aknoweledged the fact it took much longer but sub-conciensly could not try to place that time till much later, its like the more time passed (im talking years) from the event, the more i could understand that something was not right about that night. during that rural stretch everything draws a blank. 3. The small plane that entered the black cloud and did not re-appear. we lived down the street from detroit metro airport at one time also when i was younger, me and my friend were on bikes pulling up to my frontyard (just after a thunderstorm passed) the sky was allready clear blue except for this "lone" black (i mean ink black) small cloud travelling at an unusaly high rate of speed as if it was trying to catch up to the storm that just had passed, and yet we couldnt have had a breeze more than 5 m.p.h at the moment. this little plane was flying behind it, engine gunned (you could here it) and flew right into it, the cloud was kind of going in a "tumbling" motion very slowly while moving ahead very fast, and the plane never re-appeard, i looked to my friend and he was looking up and i said "did you see that?" we stood there and waited to see what that plane was trying to do, but it never flew back out.. no more engine sound either.... then the cloud was gone over the horizon. i dunno, but that plane did not come back out of that cloud, and it was like my friend couldnt mutter a word about it, that strange. Thats about it for my strange lifetime events so far... Mark <im5150 a netzero net> mi USA - Thursday, December 18, 2003 at 02:24:32 (PST)

I have twice seen what I suppose must have been 'ball lightning', as I cannot think of any other explanation, except a psychic one, of them being a 'disembodied spirit'! In approx.Nov., 1972 I was upstairs in the back bedroom of our house - the sun was setting low in the sky at about 4.15pm. and it was a calm and clear evening. I went over to the window to close the curtains and suddenly to my left, between the window and a built in wardrobe, I saw a globe, about the size of a large grapefruit just hovering in the air, about 2 feet from the ceiling. I can only liken it to one of the mirrored globes used in ball rooms, because it glinted as it spun slowly round. It was a goldy,orangey colour and very beautiful. There was no sound, smell or reflection from it I was not all afraid of it and just stood there looking - it stayed for about three minutes and then just faded away, leaving no trace of itself at all. About three years later in the October, I was living in a different house, and was again upstairs in the bedroom at about 3pm. An exact replica of the previous phenomenon appeared again and lasted about the same length of time. Again the weather was calm and I could see bright sunshine from the window. Neither time was a reflection from the sun and there had been no thunderstorms since summer and each time I was alone in the house, but I KNOW WHAT I SAW. I cannot equate these happenings with anything other than ball lightning as I have searched the WWW and this is the only thing that seems to fit. Has anyone else seen what I have described? Judy Lugg Judith Lugg <judylugg a hotmail com> Wolverhampton, United Kingdom - Tuesday, December 16, 2003 at 05:08:15 (PST)

It was an evening in the spring of 1995, I was sweeping my kitchen when I heard a loud buzzing sound like that electrical sound heard in an evil scientist's lab in an old movie. I first thought my microwave was short circuiting and I looked towards it only to see a bright blue ball of light hovering about 3 inches above the counter. I stood there and watched it for 3 to 4 seconds when it exploded with the sound of a m-80 firecracker. I went over to the counter and saw that nothing was burnt or even hot, there wasn't even a odor. It was about to rain outside and I have a small window next to the microwave. I assume it came through the window, although it was closed. I'll never forget it, just like the time I was looking out the window as a kid and saw the oak tree in our front yard get struck by lighting. The lightining struck the tree, there was a second of silence, then BOOM! The tree trunk split and bark flew all over the yard. The tree burst into an orange flame and went out within 30 seconds. It was a real loss to the family, the tree was well over a hundred years old. Jim Miller <millerja a rtccom> Odon, IN USA - Sunday, December 07, 2003 at 06:33:15 (PST)

As I boy I had grown up hearing storys of ball lightning from my parents and those who knew my parents well. I was told they were spirits that my parents were seeing, but it wasn't untill one of their friends told me about ball lightning that I first began to see them for myself. The first occurance of this experience happened one night when I was meditating. The moment I reached a place inside myself where space was meaningless to me a lound bang and a bright sphere of light suddenly appeared in a corner of the room. I sat in wonder for a moment and it was gone. I decided that this might have not been a simple coincidence in regard to my meditation so I went back to this place. When I did that the ball lightning returned in another corner of the room. I tride once again and in a third corner of the room it reapeared once more. At this point I felt it was not simple coincidence, and because I was sitting in the fourth corner of the room I did not want to risk another ball of lightning comming any closer. I have had other experiences with ball lightning after this one, and feel that it is more intelligent than I am. For christmass I am getting a new microwave for the house and am going to put the old one to good use. I know the ball lightning produced in a microwave is different than the kind in nature, but I think they may be related. Wouldn't it be phenominal if you could make contact with spirits at the push of a button and not through dedicated ceremony and internal development? 'Doctor Who' somewhere in, OH USA - Saturday, December 06, 2003 at 21:06:59 (PST)

On 23 July 1986 I was driving home and had reached the foot of Wimbledon Hill (that's Wimbledon as in the tennis championships; a London suburb). It was late evening. There is a sort of civic building - a library, maybe, - on one side of the road. I'm not sure where the ball came from, but I distinctly saw this roistering ball of light, roughly the size of a soccer ball, cling to and travel (can't say it 'rolled' exactly) along along a ten-foot length of cast-iron gutter and then descend a drainpipe where I suppose it then earthed and dissipated. It was bright, but not too bright too watch, and moved a little above walking speed. I noted it in my diary that day: it happened to be the day one of our princes, Andrew, married, not that that is of particular interest to me! Adam Smith <adam.smith a zenithoptimedia com> London, UK - Friday, December 05, 2003 at 07:24:38 (PST)

i travel from phoenix to vicksburg, az on a weekly basis and i'm a native to arizona. i have only seen this once in over thirty years. i was on my way back to phoenix about 10 pm a very dark night and its a desolant desert drive. on the south side of the road, there where jack rabbits, just sitting there, some in pairs and some maybe fifty yards apart.... but for miles when ever i drive i always look for this phenomena again but have never seen it. scott winter <arizonamister a aol com> phoenix, az USA - Wednesday, November 26, 2003 at 21:36:43 (PST)

In the month of January, 1978. I was driving on US 61 thru Muscatine, Iowa at 7:15 PM. There was a winter storm in progress and the "thunder snow" was coming down at about 2 inches per hour. In the cities south end, the clouds were low and illuminated by the city lights. Suddenly, a glowing sphere slowly fell through the clouds. I watched it for about 6 seconds as it moved toward the ground then went out of sight behind a house. There was a bright flash with a funny green cast when it hit the ground. As it was falling, it was trailing sparks that quickly faded out. I had heard of ball lightning before but had never seen it until that day. Tim Tompkins <Timmmt a qconline com> Bettendorf, IA USA - Monday, November 24, 2003 at 08:04:11 (PST)

My husband and I were sitting in a park about 10:00pm on November 3rd,2003. We were talking and sitting close to a tree, suddenly there was a brilliant light that was a faint blue. At first my thought was that lighting had just flashed lighting up the park, but then I realized that the sky was cloudless and I looked up to see a large blue/green opalescent sphere that appeared to be about twenty feet in the air. The ball became a paler green and then disentegrated into a even ligter shade of green and then became yellow. It appeared to be a fire work or a flare, but as we discussed this we realized that we had heard no noise at all before or after the event. The park is large and spread out and there was really no way for someone to have launched such a thing from the vicinity without us hearing it. I then realized that ealier during our walk to the park that I had seen a breif flashing in the distance on the horizon, this made me think that it was possibly ball lightning but I am still not sure. Logically, it was most likely a flare, but the bright flash that accompanied the event lit things up immensly, it was actually frigtening, and the utter silence of the event I believe rules out the possibility of it being a firework. It had to have been only twenty feet away, when it desintegrated I actually saw some of the object stream over some trees that were about a hundred feet from us. The humidity wwas high that night and the air fairly chilly. The whole event only lasted a couple of seconds. Rex Riddle/ Jean-Jacques Michell <jmic81 a yahoo com> Memphis, tn USA - Tuesday, November 04, 2003 at 09:25:56 (PST)

At about 4:00am Sunday November 2nd, 2003 I awoke for no reason. Our bed faces the North and there are no window coverings on the North window...so my view is completly unobstructed. It was still very dark and it had beed raining. When I opened my eyes I was looking directly at a bright orange ball about the size of a tennis ball. It looked like it was about 6 foot from the window, but I can't say for sure. It just kind of hovered there for a few seconds, then it expanded to the size of a large dinner plate. The outer edge became a bright Hazey orange. Then it just dissapeared. It didn't slowly "evaporate" or "explode", it just "dissapeared". Our dog jumped up...I don't know if she saw it, sensed it, or sensed my fear. I never experieced anything like it. I was afraid to say anything.I mentioned it to an older gentleman I work with that has alot of "knowlege" in strange phenomena, and he told me to look up ball lightning on the internet...and here I am. Nice to know I 'm not alone, and that I wasn't "seeing" things. Sarah Conroy, IA USA - Monday, November 03, 2003 at 22:22:21 (PST)

I've known about ball lightning for many years. It wasn't until after reading the reports of ball lightning before I figured out what may have happened to me when I was little, about 6 years old. I don't remember any storm, and there was nobody else that experienced this at the time. I just simply woke up and looked out the window from bed. What I saw was strange white light just dancing around outside my window. It lasted about 3 seconds. I did not have a clue back then what that may have been. I was so frightened by the experience that I ran to my parents room for secureity. Ofcourse my parents thought nothing of it. I was so young, and they had 12 children, me being the last, that they dismissed it as a nightmare. I know it was no nightmare, but being a kid, that what they thought. It did not smell, it made no noise. The silence of those few seconds was strange. After reading almost all the reported experiences, I now at least have a possibility of what the heck that was. I'll never forget it! Ben <sparkitup69 a hotmail com> toronto, canada - Sunday, November 02, 2003 at 06:26:56 (PST)

ONE DAY WHEN I WAS YOUNG ABOUT 6 YEARS OLD AND NO ONE BELIEVES WHAT YOU SAY,I SITTING BEHIND OUR HOUSE ON INLOW AV.IN PEEBLES,OHIO,ADAMS COUNTY,UNDERNEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW TREE,AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW,ALL OF THESE BEAUTIFUL SPHERES OF BLUEISH-GREEN LIGHT APPEARED FROM THE GROUND OUT OF NOWHERE,IT WAS LIKE YOU WERE WATCHING THE WIZARD OF OZ WHEN THE GOOD WITCH OF THE NORTH COMES TO SEE DORTHY,OR WHEN YOUR STANDING ON A HILL A BLOW SOME BUBBLES AND THE WIND CATCHES THEM,ONLY THEY GLOW WITH LUMINESCENSE,THEY DANCED SWIRLING IN CIRCLES,LIKE GIANT LIGHTNINGBUGS,BUT THAT THEY WERE NOT,IT'S LIKE THEY HAD A MIND OF THIER OWN,BUT NOONE BELEIVES YOU WHEN YOUR 6,IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING,HAS ANYONE HAD A SIMILIAR EXPIERENCE LIKE THIS IF SO PLEASE E-MAIL ME,I KNOW WHAT I SAW!!!!!! CHANNING JOHNSON <wwwmoneymaker4u2 a juno com> CINCINNATI, OH USA - Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 04:09:07 (PST)

I REALLY DON'T WHERE TO START,BUT,I HAVE SEEN SOME CRAZY THINGS IN MY LIFETIME,AT 4TH OF JULY AT MY AUNT'S IN BROOKVILLE, INDIANA, APPROX.,1985 OUR FAMILY WOULD GET TOGETHER EVERY YEAR TO LET OFF FIREWORKS, BUT MOTHER NATURE HAD SOME OF HER OWN TO MESS WITH OUR HEADS,IT HAPPENS SO FAST YOU DON'T WHETHER YOUR SEEING THINGS OR IF YOUR F***ING CRAZY,BUT AFTER OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS SEE THE EXACTLY SAME THING YOU KNOW IT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE,WE WERE ALL,(EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT THEY SEEN IT) SITTING THE LIVING ROOM THAT MY UNCLE LLOYD HAD BUILT ONTO THEIR TRAILER,THE SKY STARTED ACTING LIKE IT WAS GOING TO STORM,SO ALMOST EVERYONE WENT INSIDE AND A FEW SECONDS LATER THIS ORANGE ENENGY BALL FLOATED RIGHT BY ME & A FEW OTHER MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY,IT WAS LIKE IT CAME STAIGHT OUT OF NOWHERE THOUGH A WALL,LIKE IT WAS ROTATING LIKE A NUCLEUS OF AN ATOM BUT A LOT LARGER,EVERYONE WHO SEEN IT WAS LIKE,"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT"HAPPENS SO QUICK YOUR NOT SURE WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON,BUT SECONDS AFTER,THE LOUDEST THUNDER BOLT & CLAP OR WHATEVER THE HELL IT WAS OCCURED,AND SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE AT THE PARTY,AND THAT'S NO JOKE!!!IT'S LIKE DID YOU JUST SEE THAT,BUT IF YOU DIDN'T,EVERYONE THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST DRUNK OR SOMETHING,BUT THAT'S BULLSHIT,CAUSE I SEEN IT AND I'M NOT CRAZY.THIS OTHER STORY MIGHT SEEM KIND OF FAR FEACHTED,BUT MY GRANDMOTHER TOLD ME WHEN SEEN WAS PREGNANT WITH MY FATHER,A HUGE FIREBALL FLEW THOUGH HER FRONT DOOR DOWN THE HALLWAY AND BACK THE SAME WAY IT CAME IN,AND STOPPED RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER,AND (I KNOW THIS SOUNDS CRAZY)BUT SHE TOLD ME SEE SEEN A IMAGE OF MY FATHER IN THE SPHERE OF LIGHT BEFORE HE WAS BORN,THIS WOMEN HAS NO REASON TO LIE ABOUT ANY THING SHE'S THE THE MOST RIGHTEOUS PERSON EVER,SO THERE IT IS,THERE I SAID IT,WHAT DO YOU THINK?????? IS THAT SOME CRAZY SH** OR WHAT,THAT'S JUST FOR STARTERS,TO TIRED TO WRITE ANY MORE!!THIS IS NO TALL TALE!!! CHANNING JOHNSON <MONEYMAKER4U2 a JUNO com> CINCINNATI, OH USA - Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 03:41:16 (PST)

This is a second hand report, reported by not one, but two SEPERATE sources. One source (the homeowner) is a close family friend. There was a storm subsiding near Chillicothe, Ohio in the Scioto Valley. The reports say the ball lightning must have been going already because when the turned it was there. In other words they did not see it form. It was about 3 feet in diameter and moving quite qickly along the flood basin. The homeowner watched as it came toward her house while at the same time a farmer across the road also saw it bolting (no pun intended) toward his neighbor's house. When it got close to the house it dissolved into nothing. Just an interesting story, I certainly believe in ball lightning! Jay Southern Ohio, OH USA - Friday, October 10, 2003 at 07:42:01 (PDT)

Ball lightning sighted while on security watch in a parking lot next to the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky. It followed the curve of my automobile, swiped the driver side window in front of my face and traveled back to the rear of the car and disappeared. It never endered my car. There was no storm at the moment but was on a night (10-02-03, 2:00am) between two recent weather fronts. It was white, bright and the size of a small grapefruit. Anna Chenault <annie18866 a msn com> Louisville, KY USA - Thursday, October 02, 2003 at 14:35:38 (PDT)

There have been several of these round softball size, and one basketball size very very bright lights appear in our living room and in Dinning area of our home. On each occasion it's anywheres between 8:00 pm and 1:00 am in the evenings. The most prevelant was last year, I believe on a september evening. I was on my computer, my wife was sitting in a lazyboy chair watching Television. All at once at the same time we both saw this basketball size very very bright white light enter the room. Its stayed in one spot for about 8 - 10 seconds, then at first, it moved slowly towards the East(front of our living room & front of the house) Then as we said what the heck was that ? It flew directly into the side of our entertainment center through our stereo compartment then throught our Tv out the other side and went right through the outside wall of our home. Since then, we have seen little round white lights(objects) at different times of the evening. But none as big as those first ones we saw. Ironic enough is that 45 minutes after we saw that basketball size light flash and move out of the house we got a very upsetting phone call that my wifes grandmother had passed away approxinately the same time that light was in our home. I've had similar instances myself back home in upstate, New York years ago. My wife thinks it something or someone or force following me or watching me from the otherside. Oh well, I can't control it or stop it, so, what can you do right ? Take care. A.D. Powers A.D. Powers <ADPSeaCat a aol com> Port St Lucie, FL USA - Tuesday, September 30, 2003 at 22:41:38 (PDT)

I grew up in Miles, TX. I was about 14 years old (i.e. in 1939) when this phenomena occured. We lived across a small valley from the local power system substation. We had a lot of powerful thunderstorms in those days. I would often sit out on our front porch and watch the storm show. Quite often during a storm a fireball (appeared to be some 6 feet in diameter)would form in the upper part of the substation framework (i.e. some 30-40 feet above ground) hang there for a few moments, then fall down through the framework to the ground, then roll down the hill to the bottom and dissipate. It looked just like a ball rolling down the hill. I must have observed this phenomena at least a dozen or more times. Wilbur J. Lindsay <wjmjl a aol com> Houston, TX USA - Sunday, September 28, 2003 at 08:59:51 (PDT)

As a child of 4 or 5 (1943/1944),during a thunderstorm, my stepmother and I saw a orange ball of light floating into our sewing room. The ball was about the size of a softball and floated near the ceiling. As the ball neared a wall it disappeared and at the same instance a terrific clap of thunder occurred. This happened in Guthrie, Okla. Harold E.Bowen <HEBowen a juno com> Littleton, co USA - Sunday, September 21, 2003 at 22:09:59 (PDT)

In July of 2000 I experienced a ball lightning attack of sorts. While driving in the quartzville mountains at ten pm forty miles off of highway 20 from green peter exit in sweet home Oregon. As I drove along I noticed just about five feet off my driver side bumper a baseball sized ball of intence orange light. I was traveling at between fourty and fifty mph and after about seven min. or so of slowing down and speeding up it stopped matching my speed then it vanished. About fifteen to twenty min. later it returned, only this time it was doing fly bys at incredible rates of speed while only comeing within inches of my driver side window and windsheild. It continually heranged my friend and I untill we were basically out of the mountains and back on to the highway. chadd <chindy69 a aol com> quartzville, Or USA - Sunday, September 21, 2003 at 01:49:30 (PDT)

My Pop-Pop said that back in 1958 he saw a blue-softball sized, ball come out of a power-outlet and go across the floor...hit a wall and dissapeard with no sound or damage at all...Storm mj13... Micah Josenhans <Storm mj13 a aol com> Crisfeild, MD USA - Thursday, September 18, 2003 at 13:00:32 (PDT)

Ball Lightning: Several years ago I had two seperate encounters with what I now believe was ball lightning. The episodes were a couple of months apart, but occurred in exactly the same place with similar curcumstances. I had never seen ball lightning before, nor have I seen it since. On both occasions, there were storms in the vicinity, but not directly over the city. I was alone in the house at night both times and there were lights on in the house. I was working at the table and looked up to see a ball of bright, burning white light hanging between 6 - 12 inches in front of our TV set. The light hung there, unmoving for maybe 30 sec. each time and then just disappeared. I don't remember any smell or noise, but it made quite an impression on me, that's for sure. Saunis Parsons <tdnsns1 a aol com> Kent, OH USA - Saturday, September 13, 2003 at 19:13:37 (PDT)

I was walking to a local cornmaze in Farmington, Utah at 7:30 p.m. It was late september so it was just past dusk. I was walking toward the west when a bright light caught my eye. I looked up and saw a bright greenish-blue (more green than blue) cicle or sphere. It looked to be about the size of a quarter held at arms length. It was going very fast. It was about 45 degrees up in the sky heading north. There were clouds just to the north and when it got to them it went in front of some and behind some others (not weaving, some clouds were higher than others). It wasn't completely overcast. I thought maybe it was a meteor but there was no contrail and at that low altitude I am sure I should have at least heard a sonic boom or sometheing. It was gone in 3 seconds, having gone into the clouds to the north of us. I was pretty shaken up. I went home and my sister and her boyfriend also said they saw it. I went on the internet and found someone in Ogden (15 miles north) also saw the same thing at the same time. A few months later I heard some kids at school talk about it too. They lived about 10 miles south. It was real and I wasn't seeing things. There were no storms or anything nearby so I don't think it was ball lightning. It's hard to explain, but it looked like plasma or something. What on earth does that? There is an air force base about 10 miles north of here. Tyler Farmington, utah USA - Friday, September 05, 2003 at 22:02:34 (PDT)

My ball lightning story is more believable that most i've read. I was just parked along the highway, leaning against the steering wheel, watching the moon that had just appeared through the clouds during a rain and lightning storm, and saw a greenish-blue disc-shaped ball-flame move not slow and not fast through and out of the clouds right next to the moon at 8:22pm Sept 4th 2003. It had no visable trail. It was headed down southeast behind the mountain. It didn't fade out at all and traveled in a streight line for a long distance till it went behind the mountain.I didn't know what it was, I thought it was some sort of giant meteor crashing down through a rainstorm. It was the same size of the moon and was pretty high up as it was partially in the clouds when i saw it, when it started down from the top of my windshield. for a few minutes before the occurance there was heavyy lightning in the clouds non that I could see that ever came in contact with the ground. It was really amazing. Right after seeing it I was thinking how nobody would ever believe me or be able to explain what it, and how real it was. to email me replace (AT) with a . A V <snowc AT tropicalstorm com> Lake Tahoe, NV USA - Thursday, September 04, 2003 at 21:49:54 (PDT)

It was lightning but no thunder around 11:00pm when my husband and I went to sleep. Our 11 yr-old son had fallen asleep on our couch in the living room. We both awoke to the sound of thunder and crazy lightning all around. We have a large living room filled with 12 windows and the thought of our son being out there with the storm raging was enough to make me uneasy. So my husband and i went out there to get him off the couch and into his bedroom. As we were trying to get him off the couch a huge clap of thunder hit and at that moment we both froze and witnessed the most eerie thing...In one window was a huge ball of fiery light dancing outside the window (almost like it was trying to find a way in) then it raced to another window. In seconds it was gone. But the creepiest thing was on a table 15 feet away sat my son's "juggler" hat (battery-powered) blinking off and on - its the kind of kid's hat that you have to press the button inside the rim to get the lights to blink. Just talking about it raises the hair on my neck...i know i witnessed something that seemed to be some type of phenomonen? Whatever it was caused my phone line to go dead too...strange nelly macdonald mi USA - Friday, August 29, 2003 at 18:32:26 (PDT)

Over fort Hood millitary base in killeen Tx. We watched a thunderstorm for a couple of minutes and saw a light go vertically straight up and zip across the sky, we watched it for 10 to 15 minutes and got a pair of binoculers and followed it and the 3 of us saw more than 30 of these objects. We w2atched for over 2 and a half hours doing complex angle like manuvers no air craft can travel 30+ miles and instantly stop and reverse course in just 2 seconds, we used to be some of the harshest cedicts until Wendsday night, it has completely changed our out look on this subject. Well last night we were wishful for them to return and they did bright lights flying in circles and hard complex manuvers traveling well over mach 10, you dont have to believe me but so far 2 nights in a row there in the same place i wish i could call some one in Fort Hood,but they would probably denie the whole incident. If you have any information for me i would really appreciate it. Aaron Lucas <lucasail a thegateway net> lampasas, Tx. USA - Friday, August 29, 2003 at 07:50:43 (PDT)

I'm sorry that I don't have the exact date . . . but I know it was the summer of 1981. I lived in Clearwater, FL amd there was a mild thunderstorm blowing through the area at the time. All of a sudden a blue ball of lightning appeared in my livingroom. It rolled across my floor in a haphazard way and just dissapeared into a wall under an electrical outlet. I only told my family (and some of them looked at me like I'd been seeing things!). Now, thanks to this site, I may know what it was. The really strange thing is that there was no damage that I could see after it went through my room. It only lasted a minute or two . . . but I'll never forget it. Lee Dalton <ldalton a cfl rr com> Orlando, FL United States - Tuesday, August 26, 2003 at 18:41:35 (PDT)

I observed on August 26th, 2003 at 5:00pm a dancing orangish-white ball dancing horizontally across one of the mountain ridges where I live. The ridge was approximately quarter of mile away from my home. Beverly Smtih <SSnowyRiver a aol com> Yankee Hill, CA USA - Tuesday, August 26, 2003 at 13:17:43 (PDT)

I saw ball lightening last year. It illuminated the entire room, appeared for about... well it seemed like 30 seconds, but was in actuality more like 6 or 7 seconds. Im tall, about 6 ft (for a girl), and it was about level with my chest. It was silverish-whiteish kinda blueish, had whiteish haze all around it. The sphere was about the size of a... say ah volleyball. It was close, only about a few feet away. And I felt it in my chest. It felt like my chest kinda exploded, although, of course it didnt come from me or my chest, it just appeared a few feet in front of me. It made my knees pretty weak, and I sort of buckled... like I had kinda like if you've ever had a really good massage on a magnetic massage table (they put a magnetic cushion on the table before you lie down) or if youve ever had lightening strike close to you before (I have over Lake Superior when I was caught in a storm. I had no idea what it was and was pretty scared to tell anyone, but when I finally did, my friend said it was ball lightning and its a natural phenomenon. It appeared for that while, then just disappeared. Faded sorta. It seems to me that there was a sweetgrass or chamomile kinda smell, afterwards, which I can only assume was ozone. At any rate, I definitely felt it and felt it specifically in my chest region very strongly, enough that I collapsed to my knees. It didnt feel like electrical shock, it was sort of any all over energy drain, more like a lond sauna or like I said, what you feel when you are close to a lightning strike or get a good 3 hour massage. Then, like I said, my chest, it was that all over feeling really concentrated, and my legs and feet kinda went limp. Anyone else? Likewise? More info? Im pretty sure it was probably some atmospheric gaseous ignition kinda deal, like when lightening strikes, but anyone get a charge or feeling like that? In the chest region? It didnt shock me or anything, and it didnt hurt I mean it kinda took me down, but it didnt hurt, it was just kinda overwhelming. Read some reports but nothing on that. It didnt strike me or "hit" me, but it did get the illusion--since I didnt know what it was at the time-- the illusion that it came from my chest since I felt it so massively, of course-- like I said, Im sure my biological reaction and feeling-- since it was simultaneous with its appearance would cause that to happen, especially if it kinda corporeally "charged" and disorientated me.The biggest sensation is that it was "heavy" the air-- the feeling-- everything seemed kinda "dense" and "heavy". Moreso "dense" The top part of me, of the air, it seemed,felt "heavy". Thats kinda what brought me down. Then too, when lightning strikes, tghe natural instinct is to kinda cringe or go low, hit cover. You can email me at neaneapoopoo a yahoo com. But no weirdo stuff like UFO crap. But Native American theories and story welcome though. Cheers! Ne Ne <neaneapoopoo a yahoo com> Marquette, Mi USA - Tuesday, August 19, 2003 at 15:10:31 (PDT)

When I was 10 years old I saw 5 blue balls float out of an electrical oultet about 2 feet away. I was in my bedroom on top of a mountain in VA. I heard no lightning. They were silent and perfectly round. The biggest was the size of a baseball and the smallest about the size of a golf ball. They looked hollow as if only the outer shell was swirling light-blue/cobolt-blue. I was sitting next to the wall outlet near the floor. The balls slowly floated up then horizontal then down. I was about to touch one but decided not to. Good thing, a couple of them floated about seven feet away and landed on the bedspread making round burn marks. The others floated to the floor and brunt the rug. It lasted for about 10 seconds. I can not believe I did not get burnt. I was very close to them. They were not attacted to me. When I was about to touch one my hand was about six inches away and they did not zoom to it but moved away. After that I got wise. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. When I explained the burn marks nobody could really understand what I saw. Nobody ever saw ball lightning. At the time I called them blue bubbles. They floated around gracefully like soap bubbles. Pete McCrosson <petemcc a mindspring com> Columbia, SC USA - Saturday, August 16, 2003 at 00:41:49 (PDT)

Hi my name is Eddy and I?m 50 years old this month. About 30 years ago while I was still doing my apprenticeship as an electrical engineer and was still living with my parents, I saw something I could not explain, this bothered me for many years to know the explanation of it. Only tonight I think I have solved the puzzle. I was in my bed around 01H10 in the morning and about 30 minis after a thunderstorm earlier that evening, when I was awaken by a hissing noise and saw a bright light in the form of a cloud floating about 1 meter off the ground entering my bedroom the cloud was changing its shape to pass through the doorway from the passage leading into my room, I was paralyzed with fright as the glowing cloud moved closer to my bed while it was giving off a bright light similar to that of an arc welder and making this hissing sound. The cloud continue to move and pasted within 0.5m from the bed at a steady walking pace and continue towards the window where it passed through the closed curtain without leaving a mark, and through the glass window after witch it disappeared into the night. After I composed myself I went outside to look for it, but it was gone. On my return to my room, my dad confronted me at the door and wanted to know if I was using his arc welder inside my room, he was only able to see the flickering light from his room, and became concerned that I might set the carpet alight with the arc welder. This incident left me with wonder if it was n ghost that I saw. But tonight I saw a program on TV. While watching the National Geographical channel, about ball lightening and I am sure this is what it was that night, although the description of other people different from that of mine. Please feel free to contact me about this by Email on ?arrow a isogo co za? with any other views about this . Eddy deWitt <arrow a isogo co za> Johannisburg, SouthAfrica - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 at 17:36:10 (PDT)

About 12 years ago, when I was 8 my brother and I were playing in our room with a friend during a thunder storm. I was sitting on the top of my bunk bed next to the window, when I looked out and saw this huge, what I thought to be, fireball. It was about the size of a car tire and it was moving slowly past the window in the air while the firebal rotated. We watched it go by in amazement and then it hit our power box. Everything went out and it actually started a fire in our garage, where the power box was located. I've never seen anything similiar since. Brittany Carlisle, MA USA - Wednesday, August 13, 2003 at 20:41:05 (PDT)

I was standing on my porch Aug 8th,2003 in Tampa,Fla. It was ligtening really close. All of a sudden-at the same time there was such a loud noisy I thought my ear drums would pop. For a second I couldn't hear anything. I saw this ball suspended in front of me- it was pinkest-yellow around it. It exploded from within. I thought I had flipped out-but after looking up "lightening fireballs" on the net,I guess that's what it was. Thanks,Grace Grace McKenzie <baygirlgrace a msn com> Tampa, Fl USA - Saturday, August 09, 2003 at 11:09:46 (PDT)

Around 1950 my brother and I were riding our bikes on a bike path across a marsh in the Bronx. The weather conditions were such that we were hurrying to avoid an oncoming summer storm. As I recall, there was a hint of an odd odor in the air, something we connected with the weather rather than with the landscape. As I rode behind my brother, I was stunned to see a bluish white, football-shaped light that seemed to spin rapidly form just beneath his saddle. It hung there for a second, and then slid down the bars of his rear wheel and vanished. I fully expected that the next thing that I would witness was my brother keeling over, but in fact he was not even aware of what I had just witnessed; the expression on my face convinced him of the truth of what I have just described. Leo Grant NYC, NY USA - Friday, August 08, 2003 at 21:31:37 (PDT)

I was 6 years old we were coming back from widers dairy with some milk just me and mom in a 1968 chevy we just came 0ff the hiway i said to my mom lets get home. the cloud bank to the west was roling the last time i had seen this was 22years later on lake supeiorin a very bad storm that made our captin afraidwe would not make it back in.any howwe just came up to bonnie dunes farm and the sky litup our car stoped and balls of fire spitting out orange streaks came like out of the hill but not from the cloud bank. i would say about 35 toas many as 60 bolls came from 3 differnt directions my hair was on end but yet i was not scard just in a state like tance. the balls all different sizes just above the ground converged on the barnand nothing a few seconds later 3 huge balls came out of the rolling clouds somewhat hesitated and hit the barn turning it into a instant inferno. and all this time my mom was trying to start the car and when balls hit the barn the car started. we went to my grand fathers house.he was sherif of marathon co.he came out in his uniform and said i saw it toand off he went. some time after the goverment had some peoplecome out .the said the had picked up some radio active aeras in and around the farm and up went the fences and of course being kids we had to cheak it out over the fenceadn as we walked towards the formin aeras our hair began to stand up and go back downwe got the tooth picks out and stayed out. and utill now with exceptions in our family i never told anybody this event and when i say its not streted or false it all true as god is my creator.thanks Richard holm jr. Richard holm jr. <rjrme2 a msn com> wausau, wi USA - Wednesday, August 06, 2003 at 22:24:08 (PDT)

I didn't see a lightning ball my dad did he said it was the coolest thing he ever seen. He was telling me and my mom the story, he said he ws about 9,10 years old and there was a big thunder storm, but then cleared off. It was all sunny at this point, he said, and all the kids were playing out side and so was he. He said there was a loud hissing noise all of a sudden he couldn't ignore it he turned around and there it was the lightning ball he said if you connect your arms above your head it was the size so it was about a meter in diamiter. He wasn't scared at all when it landed and went over to check it out it took a good amount from a tree. Back to the hissing he said it was loud and sound like it was spining. During the thunder storm he had told us the story me and my mom heard this hissing noise he was talking about I raced to get to my living room window but when I got there the hissing had stopped and I saw no lighting ball, but was it a lightning ball? I could of been. Justin Millerson <travelinman_15 a hotmail com> Angus, ontario Canada - Wednesday, August 06, 2003 at 08:37:16 (PDT)

A few years ago, i saw a blue-white, brightly glowing light that I believe to be ball lightning. I was travelling home at close to twilight, but there was still enough light that I did not have my headlights on, and i was on a counry road, so what i saw was not street lights reflecting on the winshield, the only lights nearby were stationary lights on top of two towers, and they were both a red colour, not what I saw. At first, since I was driving, I only saw it out of the corner of my right eye - so I can't be sure if it came from the ground or just spontaneously appeared, but when I slowed down to get a closer look at it, it looked almost like a falling star except closer and goin straight up as if from the ground. Then it look as if it slowed to a stop and kind of floated the way ping pong balls do in the classroom experiment with the air blowing them staright up. the whole experience only last a couple of seconds but was an impressive sight that has only been match by my first and only sighting of aurora borealis. The only non Bl explaination I can think of is pyrotechnics but it didn't look like a any firecracker shot I have ever seen and fireworks are generally not impressive looking until dark. Also the time of day, time of year and local regulations (not to mention the odd fact that there was only one ball - I waited for more and would have seen any others before it within three minutes) make it seem like an unlikely explanation. It looked to me very much like BL re-inactments I have seen on educational television. Regardless, it was pretty cool. by Mike (age 26 at the time and I never drink or use drugs) mike near toronto, ON canada - Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 10:42:28 (PDT)

This is not really my observation or experience, but my fathers. My father was a fighter pilot during Korea and Vietnam, and later flew diplomats in DC-6's. He has seen some PRETTY weird stuff during his time in the sky. I am sure I have heard some "tall tales" but this one is a "no shitter". He was flying the DC-6 (MIL version), IFR (instrument flight rules) and they were preparing to navigate around or through a thunderstorm. My dad, flew the plane through a cloud, and the aircraft was struck by lightening! Te old man (as I call him affectionately) said the lightening bolt hit the nose of the aircraft, and a ball of what he describes as "pure energy" passed down the nose, through the glass into the cockpit, passed my dad, the co-pilot, and navigator, and continued down the center aisle, to the rear of the aircraft and dissappeared, presumably out the end of the plane. There were no injuries or instrumentation failure. Just the obvious human error caused by the dumbfounded aircrew. Anyway, this relates to lightening balls, and thought your readers may be interested in this phenomonen. D <SHES108 a aol com> Miami, FL USA - Saturday, July 26, 2003 at 17:31:28 (PDT)

Nothing as cool as all the others, but I was driving down I-74 (Illinois)..It was storming beyond belief (THE biggest lightning show I have EVER seen).. I just happened to look to the left out the window and see a Bright Green ball of lighting! Thats pretty much it ! Ant < a > Bloomington, IL USA - Monday, July 21, 2003 at 21:57:46 (PDT)

In the summer of 1996 I experienced an exceptionally heavy thunderstorm with ball lightning. At about 3 o clock in the morning flashes and thunder started, and soon became so violent, that the landscape around could be observed in full color without artificial lightning, in the middle of the night. There was no rain yet. Suddenly I saw an orange ball of light circling and zigzagging wildly through the air above a farmhouse appoximately half a mile away, some 20-30 feet high in the air. The phenomenon disappeared after some seconds. A few minutes later very heavy rain started. Gregor <gregor a scherer.de> Bonn, Germany - Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 16:08:30 (PDT)

I was at my grandparent's house on Lake Sam Rayburn. It was early morning just after a thunderstorm. I looked across the lake and I saw something shoot out of the trees. At first I thought it was a firework but it stopped in mid air and started hovering over the trees. Then all of a sudden it zoomed down to the water and stopped then hovered over the lake and went past the next addition ,all the while staying in a straight path. I extremely think that what I witnessed was a VERY large form of ball lightning. Unfortunately I was the only one in the house to see it. I don't know about anyone else in the other additions though. By the way the ball of light was green in color. NICK COLEMAN <dan85315 a yahoo com> Beaumont, Tx USA - Saturday, July 12, 2003 at 19:18:50 (PDT)

I was watching television during a Thunder storm. The power went out and I decided to watch the storm from my window. Then I looked down the street and saw a glowing ball. It was moving in a fast and wild fashing toward my neiborgh's house then bounced off my garage and hit a pail of water and disappered. My Mother was out side playing (when she was about 15) and she herd a big boom, a flash of light coming from an aluminum can she touched the can and it burned. Then she saw some scorch marks on the house. Nick Grand Ledge, MI USA - Thursday, July 10, 2003 at 19:47:12 (PDT)

Once during recess at school when I was in the third grade (3 Years Ago) a black ball had passed between my legs as I was talking to some friends of mine,the ball moved or should i say hovered with incredible speed at least as fast as car going at 60 kph,it had entered the school from the direction of the main entrance door. I would have seen how it had exited the school but it was gone by the time I turned around. The ball itself looked somewhat fuzzy,I'm actually supposed to say that it seemed to have hundreds if not thousnds of tiny spikes blurred by it's speed. To my friends with whoom I was speaking I looked extremely shocked. Anatoli Tsinovoy <tolka_il a fromru com> Haifa, Israel - Thursday, July 10, 2003 at 15:54:02 (PDT)

As a fourteen year old in 1962, iwas standing on the front porch of my parents home in Jacksonville during a typical summer thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning struck a utility pole 50 yards from our house and a ball of lightning detached fron the main bolt and rolled down the sidewalk about 20 feet an dissipated. Albert Jones <zeke a baptistmail com> Jacksonville, FL USA - Monday, June 30, 2003 at 16:10:33 (PDT)

a weird thing is a few years ago i was sleeping in the room i used to share with my sister. i woke up at 12 and it was thunderstorming out pretty bad. my dog was on my bed, i was def. awake! all of the sudden i saw a flash of light in the corner of my room. it was like a yellowish glowing ball that went on for a second. i saw another in a different area of my room. i was so terrified, i couldn't move. then one popped (i could actually hear a "snap") above my face as i looked up towards the ceiling. that was the freakiest thing ever. i later learned that it might be ball lighting. virginia nj USA - Tuesday, June 24, 2003 at 20:47:47 (PDT)

This report goes back many years, to when I was 7 years old. I remember it quite clearly however. My older brother was in the Cub Scouts, and we went to Ft. Lewis, Washington for an event on base. There was a display of tanks, helicopters, tents, etc. It was Thundering and lightning all day. Someone at one point motioned upwards (I think it was my brother or mother). I looked up and saw a double bladed helicopter hovering at about 300 feet. About 500 yards away from it, and at the same altitude, was a ball traveling in a slow, level, and straight trajectory. The ball was mostly white, but perhaps a bit yellow. It was also very much larger than the accounts I have read about thus far. I would say it had to be roughly 3 feet in diameter. Being that this was 26 years ago, I do not remember how the observation terminated. I think it may have just disappeared. Alan Collinge <alan_collinge a msn com> Tacoma, WA USA - Sunday, June 22, 2003 at 16:46:01 (PDT)

This is from the Frederick News-Post, Frederick,MD,USA June 21,2003 edition: 100 Years Ago JUNE 21, 1903 AN ODD story of one of the storms of last week came from a mile and a half south of Fayetteville, Pa. John Reichard was standing in his open k itchen door when a bolt of lightning struck a pear tree nearby, glanced from it to the woolen cap he had on his head, knocked a tin cup from his hand, bounded to the stove and hurled a coffee pot from it, then tossed a big cat into a corner, stunned Mrs. Reichard and three children and darted out the door again, finally burying itself in the ground in front of the kitchen. Mr. Reichard says the lightning resembled a ball. John M Roman <jmroman a adelphia net> Sykesville, MD USA - Saturday, June 21, 2003 at 10:53:51 (PDT)

We recently were coming back from a vacation at Myrtle Beach toward Erie, PA- 6/15/03. We decided to get off I-95 & take the Scenic route through the Shenandoa Mountains. We took a smaller state route toward Waynesboro, VA. It was getting late (10:00pm), and in the distance, we could see we were heading right into a Thunderstorm. As we got closer, the storm seemed to intensify, and lit the surrounding country side. At first, I thought I was seeing things or there was some sort of meteor shower. I kept seeing what looked like meteors coming through the clouds- streaking toward earth and then burning out very quickly. I told my wife & kids to look out the window. They some them as well. I can only describe them as looking very similiar to a meteor shower except the cloud cover was too low and too full to expose the upper atmosphere, so I don't think they could have been meteors. They were small (maybe like basketballs) bright, but not as bright as regular lightning, fast, & appeared to burn out very quickly - much before they hit the ground. My guess is that they were "Ball Lightning", however I had never seen ball lightning nor a picture, thus this is how I found this page - when I was looking for a picture of "ball lightning" on the web. I had no idea it was that mysterious & evasive. D Pershun <L1GHTN1NG a aol com> Erie, PA USA - Friday, June 20, 2003 at 07:01:57 (PDT)

In the summer of 1958, my family was in Cienfuegos, Cuba. It was early afternoon, storming and drizzling a bit and we were all scattered around the house - relaxing or napping after having had a big lunch. I was alone in a back room, reading a comic book while laying face down on a couch adjacent to a wide open doorway leading to the rear porch. I vividly remember the moment when I saw the ball lightning. The comic book was open flat on the floor and my head was hanging over the edge of the couch to read the latest adventure of Superman - that position placed my head very near (and facing) the door's opening. Suddenly a bluish and white orb (I think there may have been some orange as well)the size of a basketball came through the doorway into the room. It was less than 10 feet away from me and it seemed to bounce off the tile floor and then collided with a wall. I was looking right a it, fascinated by the sight of it and by how oddly and slowly it moved (it probably took 3-4 seconds to cross the room and the weird floating bounce took the strange thing a lot farther than a normal bouncing ball would go). When the ball hit the wall, it vanished with a flash and an extremely loud "explosion". The concussion left me a little dazed, with ringing in my ears, and slightly deaf for a couple of minutes. The flash left me seeing red spots for a minute or so. In a few seconds the whole family was running around asking if everyone was all right. The combination of my senses being affected and the chaos scared me quite a bit. I saw my grandmother calmly standing nearby and I went up to her and asked her if we were dead. She smiled and said "No. We just got hit by lightning. That's all. We're fine." Most of the electric outlets in the large house were blackened and the paint on the wall around the outlets was discolored. The neighbors from across the street came over and the girl (Dagmar was her name I think) told us that the whole house had been surrounded by a blue glow for a couple of seconds. I never realized until many years later just how rare an occurrence it was to actually witness this phenomena. Felipe Yanes Tampa, FL USA - Sunday, June 15, 2003 at 09:34:18 (PDT)

FRIDAY,JUNE,13:Me and friend were about to part ways, i was 5 feet from the door, when suddenly we both saw a flash of A glowing shpere about 6 feet infront of both of us.it was quite unexpected to say the least. vincent shields <shields a net-idea net> nelson, bc CANADA - Saturday, June 14, 2003 at 17:04:46 (PDT)

I couldn't believe with my own eyes! I never saw the ball lightnings before! I am deaf. My condo vibrated! It really shook due to thunders. I decided to turn my laptop off and went to another room to look out for the heavy thunderstorm through the sliding door. It really poured sooo heavy just like cats and dogs. I could see some flashing up in the clouds... until then I saw the huge lightning bolt coming down and the lightning balls came up closer to the right side of the bolt. About 7 balls flashed at the same time, but then they went off not at the same time... I mean the lightning bolt was far away and I was safe here at home... I will look at the place tomorrow morning to see if there are any electricity power lines or something... I bet there must be some wooded area. I'll check when the sun comes out. Laurie Leifermann <LaurieJaneMN1 a aol com> Gahanna, OH USA - Friday, June 13, 2003 at 20:24:19 (PDT)

June 11 2003 8:30pm Just last night I saw Ball Lightning, I was wacthing a thunderstorm come up,and in my yard I saw a blue-whitish ball about the size of a softball simply just blink with no sound or odor smell what so ever WEIRD. Micah J. P.S.Anyone who is interested in a time machine,I am going to invent one in 2009 it is going to called the Time Truck. Micah Josenhans <Storm mj13 a aol com> Crisfield, MD USA - Thursday, June 12, 2003 at 12:30:28 (PDT)

I read a report on the ball light part that a person saw tear drop mercury like balls. I saw the same thing during the start of rough weather. I looks like an egg shaped form about 10 feet in diameter from where I was. The silver appearance was just like a drop of mercury. The history of ufo's shows that the thing shines because of a mercury vapor dispelled from the engine. manuel paredez <mparedez a msn com> USA - Sunday, June 08, 2003 at 19:34:48 (PDT)

During the summer of 2002 (Florida) it was raining hard with thunder and lightning. To watch the rain coming down I walked toward the patio doors, all in the same instant a giant clap of thunder shook the house and a ball of lightning (orange and white) hit the ground near the bottom of the steps. It was approximately 24" across. All in this instant I ran to my bedroom. The next day I told my daughter about it, and it was then that I learned what it was. I NEVER want to see that again! (by the way, it killed the grass in that area where it hit). Kathy Kramer Trenton, FL USA - Saturday, June 07, 2003 at 01:52:37 (PDT)

I'm now 57 so this experience happened a long time ago - when I was about 12 or so. I have told many people about it but when I came across this site I decided to add my experience to that of others (with the urging of my daughter - who is currently interested in weird phenomena). We lived in a suburb of Chicago. I was the back yard of the house next door with my 2 friends. As I remember, we were playing outside when a suddend storm came up. It was actually more like a very sudden change in atmosphere that felt like a big storm was about to hit. Anyway, all of a sudden a very bright fireball streaked into the yard and exploded like a bomb in a very spectacular way. We ran up to the back porch of the house and ducked behind some porch furniture. Two or three more fire balls streaked into the yard from the same direction and exploded with a very loud and sudden bang. We were very scared so we didn't come out from behind the chairs for quite awhile. I can still picture the phenomenon. The balls were the size of a basketball and blasted in on a lightening-like streak. That was the only time I have seen such a thing but it is interesting to see that many others have had very similar experiences. Rob <profman1 a juno com> MA USA - Sunday, June 01, 2003 at 15:58:25 (PDT)

On Sunday April 13th, 2003 our home and yard were hit by ball lightning. It had been raining really hard and we could hear thunder in the distance. From across the field came a orange red glowing ball. It passed between my two sons and knocked them to the ground. It traveled another hundred feet or so across the yard. Then it exploded, it damaged about five 100ft tall douglas fir trees. It caught the outside plugin, it continued through the Spa and into the master bedroom. It blew the plaster off of a corner of the wall where it entered the house, a small fire started at that location. All of the GFI circuits were blown, the 40AMP circuit to the Spa was blown, as well as all components of the Spa. Other damage was 27" TV, VCR, Telephone, Garage Door opener, Sewing Machine, wall switches and outlets. Needless to say we will take any further thunder claps very seriously. I have lived in Washington all my life and we have never had to worry about thunder and lightning, now we have a very healthy respect for it. Karen Cox <kcox1834 a attbi com> Woodinville, WA USA - Saturday, May 31, 2003 at 23:50:28 (PDT)

[Ball Lighting] There was a very severe storm over a day or so in March 1993, this was part of the so-called Great Storm or No Name Storm, I think this was around March 13 or 14. I was living in Bartow, Florida at the time and decided to head up to Lakeland, Florida to be with some friends. It was in the evening. I was heading north on 98 and near the intersection with the 60 bypass when something happened that was very foreign to me, unlike anything I had ever seen or ever heard about, and I was generally hesitant to talk about it, as it seemed almost like a hallucination, even though that would not be the explanation due to my usual state or my state at the time. It seemed something like a ball that was greenish yellow, travelling roughly parallel to the ground, at a low altitude. I recall it seeming slower than lightning but something that would be too fast for anyone to outrun. I am thinking there may have been more than one. It is difficult to articulate, because I did not write down anything at the time and it was probably years before I talked about it much, and because it was so unexpected and unusual. J.S.L. FL USA - Friday, May 30, 2003 at 18:16:50 (PDT)

A Ball of Very EXTREME Light oscillated up & down(10 foot up and down but no movement sideways),this carried on for about 30 min the time was 2-10am and I woke my wife to view the ball . The height above the ground was aprox 700-800 feet The size of the ball appeared to be about 80 to 100 feet in diameter. We were living on the surrounding hills looking down on the habour,and the ball was in line with our sight,throwing it's glow over the harbour and surrounding city. We looked away for a nano second & it disappeared. This is the first time I have ever gone public on this as you seem to have other people who have experienced similar sights and would not white wash it. The year was 1976. I am sorry it's taken this long to divulge what we saw but at that time you could have been locked up and given drugs to keep you under control.I had a respectable job 3 kids and 3 mortgages to mantain. Now people are starting to have a greater acceptance of the paranormal. Has anybody out there seen something similar? Graeme I have never seen anything like it since Graeme ward <graeme_ward a paradise net.nz> Wellington, NZ - Thursday, May 29, 2003 at 23:35:13 (PDT)

It was late May 16 early May 17, my husband was video taping lighting from our roof. It was around 11:40pm and he video taped it for an hour. We watched the tape and in the distance you could see little balls of light that seemed to hoover and just float. Some of it would move real fast back and forth and than some of it would just shoot off to the west and burn out. Sometimes there were just a few balls and at other times there are at least 10 plus. The storm had moved off to the west but the balls of light stayed in the same spot for over an hour. It was still there when he just got tired of being on the roof. It looks like big balls of fireflies, but there was no way that was possible. At times it looked like they were going to crash into each other, they would shoot across the sky so fast, but others would move slower. Veronica Bostian <snflwrmmm a aol com> Round Rock, TX USA - Thursday, May 29, 2003 at 10:59:24 (PDT)

I first saw ball lightning after a bolt struck a tree near where I was fishing. I did not know what it was at the time but it followed so closely after a lightning strike it had to be related. Not long after this I saw a news report on the tv which was being shown by Eric Burden of the Animals who has an interest in crop circles (I know, I know, but bear with me) and the film he showed had the same thing on it that I had seen on the river bank! A bright glowing silvery ball floating over fields!!! I can only think that this was ball lightning. The tv film was the only good represtation I have ever seen. Regards, Simon. Simon Smith <flytie a btinternet com> Worcester, UK - Tuesday, May 20, 2003 at 02:11:55 (PDT)

I was in my back yard when a thunder storm was coming in. Near my house is a large telephone pole which i am told to stay away from. Acting like a normal child of corse that was my favorite place to play. After a while it began to rain, so I was on my way inside when I saw this flash of light reflecting off the house. I immediately turned around and to my surprise there was this ball of white light on topof the telephone pole. It was about the size of a basketball and lasted for about 2 minutes. After that it began to fade and finally was gone. I did not hear or smell anything but I was not that close. Nathan Disk_jockey a hotmail com 4/12/99 Nathan <disk_jockey a hotmail com> Stevensville, MT USA - Saturday, May 17, 2003 at 11:36:44 (PDT)

On May 17th, 2003 I woke up and went to the bathroom. I always glance out my bathroom window to see the beauty of the night (or day). We live in the country and the view is spectacular. I happened to see a light at the base of one of our white pine trees that caught my eye. It would blink three times and then nothing for about the same length of time. Then three times again, about 1 foot off of the ground in a line coming toward my house. This sequence happend about 5 times in less than 3-4 seconds. I stood in wonder to see what it was, but as it reached my house, it disapated. The night was clear and quiet. I am 46 years old and have never seen anything like it! Sue Chandler New Salisbury, IN USA - Saturday, May 17, 2003 at 05:17:38 (PDT)

after the rain had stopped,my dog,and I where outside standing on front step. I noticed what appeared to be a star breaking through the clouds,to the south were lighting was going on,but the north skies were heavy with activity. I do not remember seeing lightnig when I saw this light. I watched it move horizonal,about an inch from first seeing it. Lightning to the west made it possible to see the clouds in the south. I thought boy how can this star be there. As I continued to watch,the white light,I noticed a red streak close to it. The red streak was headed west. I was making some noise as I talked out loud. Then I noticed the red streak make a right hand arch,and was heading toward my dog,and myself. I yelled for my dog to come to me,I wanted to put her in before it got to us. I got her inside,closed the door,and turned back towards the incoming event. The red streak,was no longer a horizonal line,but a red light,then it became dim,and when it did so,there was a reddish glow moving like fog.It passed me,and I was surronded in this mist. The red tint passed over everything in my neighborhood,and went north towards the more intense activity of lightning. No noise.I remembered a sci-fi movie where a man on a boat went into a fog bank,and afterwards began to shrink.I hoped this would not happen to me,ha. Jack Dempsey <JACKWDEMPc a webtv net> Fountain, co USA - Friday, May 16, 2003 at 20:26:55 (PDT)

Roughly 10 years ago (1993), while living in Woodinville, WA, an eastside suburb of Seattle, during a typically rainy fall afternoon, I was standing on the back mudporch drying the dog off, when I happened to look out the still open back door. Hovering approximately 2 1/2 ft. off the ground about 30 ft. away from me in front of a small shed was a basketball-sized ball of bright, royal blue lightning. I'm not sure how long (obviously) it had been there before I'd looked up, but it continued to hover in place for about 3-4 minutes (long enough to call a couple of my kids out to the porch to witness it) before slowly rising another half foot or so and vanishing entirely. Syd Mercer <jesterz a mindspring com> Costa Mesa, CA USA - Friday, May 09, 2003 at 16:07:45 (PDT)

hello!!!!If anyone has any eye witness reports of ONLY Blue Ball Lightning please email me,because Iam collecting reports of blue BL.mj Micah Josenhans <Storm mj13 a aol com> Crisfeild, MD USA - Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 17:32:56 (PDT)

In about 1968 when I was 7 years old, my younger brother and I were sat at the table near the window which faced onto the road, which was itself a street. A very heavy and oppressive storm was raging. As we sat there, 2 glowing balls about the size of a grapefruit came through the window and hovered over the table for about 20 seconds or so. My father had by this time seen what was happening and ran over to us pulling us to the floor. Both of the spheres crackled and fizzed and displayed a lot of colours similar to when you blow a bubble from a childs' toy bubble maker. With 2 loud bangs both the spheres exploded but caused no damage or injuries. The strange thing was, where they had come through the window, the glass wasn't broken, but they had come from outside. A neighbour from across the street had seen them roll down the roof, drop over the gutter and come down the wall till they reached the window. He had ran over to make sure everyone was ok and to tell my father what he had seen. I can remember this as plain as day as it was such a strange and frightening thing to see. paul reed <reedy612000 a yahoo com> uk - Sunday, May 04, 2003 at 08:23:28 (PDT)

I experienced what I think was ball lightning when I was about 6 years old (42 now). I was living in Memphis, TN and was in my parents bedroom when I saw a glowing ball about the size of a softball come through the window air conditioner unit and travel on a level plane as it went across the room a few feet from me and dissappeared into the opposite wall. I distinctly remember getting excited and going outside to look for it. It was sunny outside because I remember thinking it looked like a small sun and I thought it went up to the sun that was outside. It was not storming and it was a clear day. No one, not even my parents believed my story. I suppose this is why I can so clearly remember it because I could not figure it out and imagined all sorts of things it could have been. It was not until later in life that I heard of this phenomonen. I will never forget seeing that glowing ball go across the room. There was no damage and I have never seen it again. Sharon Hammons <sharonhammons a msn com> Memphis, TN USA - Thursday, May 01, 2003 at 14:11:29 (PDT)

It happened one hot summer night in the 1980's in the middle of a thunderstorm. I was sleeping in my camper on the back of my pickup truck when I was awakened by a loud thunder clap. I observed it get lighter outside; there may have been strange noises, too. I ignored it at first, but the glow of something jumping around outside broke through my sleep. I looked out the window and observed a neon-green luminous ball about 4 inches in diameter bouncing around outside. It lasted for a few minutes. I remember being afraid it would start my truck on fire, but it didn'teven though it seemed to bounce unerneath the truck a few times. I could smell an acrid smell. Oddly enough, I was parked along the edge of St. Elmo Road. dee <dezoom a yahoo com> austin, tx USA - Tuesday, April 29, 2003 at 12:19:13 (PDT)

One morning, About 2 years ago I got up to use the bathroom. As I walked out I stopped in the kitchen to see the time, 9:00 am. Something made me look to my left into the dining room. There was this bright ghostly bluish white orb floating about 4 or 5 feet in the air, probobly about the size of a large grapefruit. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen. At the time I had never heard of ball lighting and it really scared me. I couldn't move, just stood there in fear and awe staring. All of a sudden it seemingly exploded outwards filling the entire room with bright rays then disappeared. I ran out of the room and woke everybody in the house up. Nobody believed me at first. Then we noticed that all of the lights downstairs had gone out at the exact same time and all of the bulbs needed replaced. The REALLY strange part about this is that you usually hear about ball lighting during thunderstorms, this was a clear, bright, sunny morning. I'm not sure what to think, but it was the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed. Bonbon <bonnieowen a softhome net> Cols, ohio USA - Saturday, April 26, 2003 at 22:27:07 (PDT)

When i was a young child (probably between 4-7 years old i don't really recall how old i was [i am 18 now]) me and my father were sitting outside on our front porch watching a summer thunderstorm. What appeared to be an extremely bright ball (i couldn't really tell the size or distance, but it appeared to be right across the street and slightly larger than a basketball) appeared above a house slightly to the left of us on the other side of the street. The ball stayed in that spot for a few seconds before exploading with a deafining BANG. I don't remember the incident too too clearly, but i do know that it actually happened, i just mostly remember being scared out of my mind by the bang because i was so young. Stevo Auburn, MA USA - Sunday, April 13, 2003 at 21:15:24 (PDT)

This happened in the late Seventies. We had just stopped water skiing on Lake Sammamish because a thunderstorm came up, and lightning hit the water about a quarter of a mile from us in the direction I happened to be looking in. After the lightning stroke hit the water, for an instant there, it looked like column of light about the diameter of a basketball had formed. It was at least 50 ft high and a glowing white blue gray color. It acted like a liquid and within a second it had dissolved into more than ten basketball sized drops of ball lightning. Each ball slowly sunk back down under the water surface after a few seconds and shortly after they went under you could hear them explode. It sounded like quarter sticks of dynamite going off under water. It was definitely one of the strangest things that I have ever seen. Tony Rusi <marsbeyond a yahoo com> Issaquah, WA USA - Saturday, April 12, 2003 at 23:09:43 (PDT)

My father came home with an amazing story once from the radio station transmitter building he was visiting with a friend...he did electrical engineering work in the '70's in Virginia...they were locking up after discussing the job to be done with the station owner, and a particularly nasty storm had kicked up. A little rainwater had seeped into the carpet in the front foyer. Dad and his coworker were saying goodbye to the owner when the station must have been stricken with lightening. The lights went out, an explosion of thunder slammed in their ears, and my father says that's the only time he's ever seen blue fireballs, 3 or 4 of them big as softballs, all flying around in a room like that. The owner, who had just begun to unlock the glass and metal door at that moment was standing on damp carpet and he was knocked flat on the floor while the fireballs swirled. Go figure. And yes, the man lived. He got up after about five minutes and seemed to be relatively okay, just a bit embarrassed and a mite shook up. TLearner Butler, PA USA - Tuesday, April 08, 2003 at 10:50:49 (PDT)

When I was about sixteen I was in my front yard during a thunderstorm. The air smelled of ozone. My father had a ham radio antenna on the garage and ball of hissing, crackling electricity a foot or two in diameter floated from the antenna. It hovered and moved up and to the left for maybe three seconds then disenegrated with a muffled pop. It scared the heck out of me. No one could explain it untill my grandfather; who was a great lakes boat captain;told me it was ball lightning. I will never forget it. I now hope to see it again someday. Bill Edmunds Grand Rapids, Mi USA - Monday, April 07, 2003 at 09:21:53 (PDT)

About half an hour ago the strangest thing happened. I was standing in my kitchen microwaving some food and staring down at the counter when an orange light flashed in my eyes. I looked up and saw nothing and my kitchen doesn't have any windows, I screamed "what happened" and then my boyfriend ran in looking terrified and said "did you see that too?" He was sitting on the couch in the living room (right by the kitchen) and saw an orangish light streak across the ceiling and vanish....I am still a little edgy and nervous, I am assuming it is ball lightning...although it isn't stormy out... Alicia Newark, OH USA - Saturday, April 05, 2003 at 21:24:20 (PST)

I saw a glowing dim orange ball, flying above me at about 50 meters hight. The weather was not stormy but a cold windy (very windy) night. The ball was moving like there is no wind at all, stoping and moving, until it flew far from site. It was about 30 - 40 cm in diameter. I was far from any city and I didn't heared any kind of sound. Also the time was abot 03:00. I Wasn't dreaming!!! I think it was a lightning ball. I'm SURE that all the information is true, because I'm gazing almost every night at the sky with a telescope, and this case is very unusual, this is my first time I see this strange phenomena. Mickey <mickey1 a 012 net.il> Israel - Monday, March 31, 2003 at 10:36:45 (PST)

In perth recently there were some really good thunderstorms. I was out the back with a friend watching the lightning all around us and he said, "Wow did you see that." i didnt but as i looked around the edge of the house i saw the reflection of the lightning off the cloud right above us and it was a vibrant green. It wasnt like normal lightning as it stayed there for half a second or so. Later we moved out to the front of the house as the storm moved south and in the distance on the horizen i saw the reflection off the clouds again this time it was yellow. After that there was a slightly purple flash however im not too sure about this as i only caught a glimpse. Later my dad came out and i queried him about this and he was stumped for ideas then there was another one on the horizon (green) and i asked if he saw it. he said he didnt and straight after he said that there was another green one this time he saw it. it lasted for about 3 quarters of a second. Alot of people throughout perth (population 1.2 million) saw this phenomenon. paul <all_talk_no_thought a hotmail com> perth, wa australia - Sunday, March 30, 2003 at 05:31:52 (PST)

It was Tuesday, March 25, 2003 around 7:30 p.m. I was cleaning the kitchen up after dinner and I had just removed my hands from the running water in the sink and stepped to the side to wipe down the counter top. There was a thunderstorm going on outside, but I didn't think anything of it, after all this is Texas. All of a sudden I heard a noise behind me like the hum of electricity. I turned around to see a blue ball of electricity about 6" in diameter hovering about 2 feet above the electric cook top in the island 3 feet in front of me. All of a sudden there was a flash of lightning and an immediate loud clap of thunder. The ball quickly grew to approximately 2 to 2-1/2 feet in diameter and sparks shot out to anything metal in the kitchen. It crackled and sparked for about 2-3 seconds before it disappeared with a whooshing sound. My wife heard the crackling from the living room and asked me what was going on...I couldn't talk. When I was finally able to talk, I told her what happened. I checked the house and nearby trees and saw no damage. Inside the house nothing in the kitchen was damaged and no clocks were reset, however I did lose a computer, printer, VCR, and TV from three different rooms in the house. Ironically no other electronics plugged in the same receptacles were touched. I assume this ball must have passed though the window over the sink just as I took my hands out of the running water and stepped away. God allowed me to experience this phenomenon up close and it was His protective hands that kept me safe. Doug <dyount a excite com> TX USA - Saturday, March 29, 2003 at 08:57:50 (PST)

About 50 years ago my great-grand mother was walking down a gravel roadin Carthage, Tn. It was late at night and she said she felt an odd sense of heat on her back, when she looked over her shoulder she saw an odd blue light following her. she sterted running and it sped up and later passed her and disappeared. she said that it got extremely hot as it passed her. she also said that it seemed to explode as it vanished. it scared so bad that she fainted in the middle of the road and laid there all night. Gogetta <NITROZILLA a YAHOO com> manchester, tn USA - Wednesday, March 19, 2003 at 09:54:38 (PST)

I was quite young when it happened. I was at a camp that my family used to go to in the month of August. The cabin was on a lake and it was late at night. We had a fire going and were sitting on a picnic table when me my uncle my sister, cousin and aunt saw a what appeared to be a ball of green fire, perhaps the size of a basketball falling from the sky. It seemed to fall almost slowly and gently as if it had little weight and made no sound. We hadn't heard any thunder earlier either I don't believe. The ball of green fire for lack of a better description fell into the water of the lake perhaps 10 feet from shore. If i remember correctly it made a slight hissing sound when it hit the surface and then it dissapeared. I have no idea what it could be except possibly ball lightning or some other energetic occurance. Remember we're living in a universe that we know only a small fraction of. There are many things we still don't know and many things we never will. Elijah Raymond, ME USA - Thursday, March 13, 2003 at 18:16:28 (PST)

In the middle of the night we were having your everyday thunder and lightning storm when I was thoroughly awaken by this steady incredibly bright light filling the bedroom right through the shades and this loud humming noise like you would hear if you were near a huge transformer. I ran to the living room to see what was going on. At tall island huge balls of lightning were floating down (like parachutes lit even more brightly than burning magnesium). It was blinding. Sparks of fire were leaping out of the balls.(balls were about the size of basketballs.) Then it all stopped. I guess because it was raining so hard it didn't set the island on fire. I had been yelling at bob, went back to the bedroom and he was totally out. Started to crawl back into bed, still wondering what on earth it was when it started again. I'm yelling at Bob, shaking him and trying to get the shades open so he can see. By the time he stumbled out of bed, it all stopped again. I'm trying to explain what I'd seen and I think he thought I had gone completely nuts. So he trots off to the bathroom - just in time for another short blast. He didn't get to see the actual balls, but exclaimed that the bathroom lit up like a someone was arc welding in the little room. Only those right in our cove saw it, but everyone was totally in awe and talked of nothing else the next day. Some thought it was the end of the world, some that we were being bombed, others that there really were UFOs after all. We looked it up on the net and apparently this is really unusual and we were quite lucky to have seen it. This occurrence of floating balls are very rare phenomenon. It's actually called Ball Lightning. Then there are, of course, those folks who slept through the whole thing..... Sue Butler <YankeeSue a hotmail com> Chapin, SC USA - Saturday, March 08, 2003 at 07:54:06 (PST)

Back in the spring of l971, I was a student at Stephen Decatur High School (the old bldg.), in Mrs. Mare's English class. It was an overcast day and we had the windows slanted open. We were on the ground floor of the school. Right in the middle of class, a bright white-yellow ball about the size of a grapefruit floated in the window and continued to float past several students, at head level, without making a sound. It stopped not far from me, floated for a moment, and then popped with a fizzle and disappeared. Our whole huge class let out a collective gasp, and our teacher laughed and said we had just witnessed "ball lightning." We didn't know it was all that unusual, so didn't say much about it. I can't believe there is skepticism about this phenomena's existence, when thirty-some students and their teacher all observed it! Diane Stephenson <stephe a ida net> Decatur , Illinois USA - Friday, March 07, 2003 at 22:25:47 (PST)

A couple of years ago when i was at the beach (not the time with the tornado)but the time before we where going out to eat beforme the thunderstorm got bad and when we were walking in i saw a bright blue ball of something fall down to the sidewalk with a light blue almost smokey lighter blue ligt around it. it floated slowley and i first saw it about 10 ft. above the ground at first i thought it was my imagination but then it got close 2 me. when it hit the ground it made a scorch mark on the sidewalk ad emit a sizzling sound like the one from those sparklers that you hold. oh by the way i pointed it out to my family and it was the size of a golf ball. Kirk boiling spings, sc USA - Friday, March 07, 2003 at 14:16:15 (PST)

1974 - Ball Lightning I worked in the Central Office in Denton, Texas for GTE. During a lightning storm, lightning struck the building and a ball of BlueGreen plasma appeared 12 to 15 feet from where I was standing. It was 10 feet above the floor, about the size of a basketball. It rolled (or might I say "danced") slowly down the mainframe carbon protectors, frying them as it went. My hair stood out on end, as did my co-workers. The air smelled of ozone. It took about 15 seconds for it to reach the bottom of the mainframe and disappear into the ground buss. It put close to 1000 telephone customers out of service, but service was restored that day. I used the term "BlueGreen plasma" to describe the ball lightning, because I have since seen plasma in a microwave experiment, and it closely resembled that. I know what I saw was ball lightning. Rick Lindley <dottedline a netzero net> San Angelo, Tx. USA - Wednesday, March 05, 2003 at 09:17:12 (PST)

This happened only two days ago. My mom and I were out driving and all of the sudden I looked up to see a really weird light above our car, as we were pulled over on the side of the road looking at it a few things went through my head, I thought maybe a transformer blew out but it wasn't near any power lines. It was about 100 feet in the air, glowing orangy-red eliptical. I have read about these occurances and that they are often linked with earth-quakes, and early this morning there was a 5.4 earthquake. I am almost certain this is what it really was Miranda <ASLGurl a msn com> AV, CA USA - Saturday, February 22, 2003 at 10:33:23 (PST)

It was a balmy summers evening,around eleven o'clock.Myself and my cousen David were camping on the lea of a steep hill.Being so hot and balmy we decided to sleep outside the tent,before we even saw the fireball we felt it!Our hair stood on end as if we had touched a van de graff generator.The next thing was a ball of light,traveling west to east at quite some speed.The ball actually made a :SWOOSHING!:noise as it passed by.It was an awsome sight and one that I shall never forget. Richard n.ireland - Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 12:59:11 (PST)

I was glad to read the previous report about poossiible ball liighting the night of the Flight 800 crash. I, too, saw something strange in the sky that night. I was riding in the right backseat of our car on I-95 that night. We were driving from Georgia to New Jersey that night and I think we were north of Baltimore, MD when I saw it. i don't believe it was raining. Looking up into the eastern sky I saw a bright bluish-white light about halfway up the sky, and a bit ahead of us. It was larger than the stars and distant factory lights. It slowly fell diagonally a few centimeters in my perspective (not knowing how far away it was, I can't say how far it streaked in actuality- but if you traced its path on the window it was a few centimeters). It then disapeared for a brief second and reappeared with a second light a few centimeters below where I had last seen it. These 2 lights streaked down a bit more then disappeared. No one else in the car saw it; they were either sleeping or driving. I thought perhaps it was a meteor, but I didn't know if they could be that big or disappear and reappear. When we finally reached our desitination in NJ I told my grandfather about it. He said he had also seen a streak in the sky a couple hours before we got there. That would make his sighting occur at approximently the same time as mine. However it surprised me that somethting that looked that big (therefore, probably close) to me in Baltimore, would be seen near Phladelphia as well. Of course the previous report was sited by someone in Long Island, so perhaps if it occured far out above the ocean-like the crash- it could be seen for quite a distance along the East coast. Others have voiced their theories ini these archives that it was possibly ball lightning seen the night of the crash, so I am adding my eyewitness report. Nevertheless, after reading most of the reports of ball lightning, this event seems uncharecteristic of the phenomena. During the Leonid asteroid showers in NOV. 2001, I saw an event that reminded me of what I saw the night of Flight 800's crash. (what reminded me abouot it was that it traveled at the same relatively slow speed, and it was also much larger than common shootiing stars. however this recent event was much closer to me than the Baltimoore lights) It was about 2am and I was driving to a field with my boyfriend to go view the spectacular show. As I stopped at a stop sign and was about to go again, We saw this superbright and large shoooting star directly ahead of us in the sky. It streaked for about 2 long seconds and was accompanied by a *Loud* sizzling sound. It seemed so close, almost only a hundred or so feet up. In fact none of the observers in the field that I asked when I got there a few minutes later, recalled seeing it. We just assumed it was the most fasiciniating meteor we had ever seen (It *was* during a meteor shower). Some of these reports of ball lightning are similar to my "meteor?" however. Julie <jewels_star a yahoo com> Carrollton, GA USA - Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 05:59:49 (PST)

About 9 years ago my husband and I were standing in our driveway talking and we heard a buzzing sound and looked in the direction of our side yard and saw a bright whitish yellow ball of light a little bigger than a basketball hovering about 4 to 5 feet above the ground. It lasted only seconds and disappeared with a tremendous cracking bang sound that had us both running into the garage, scared to death. We thought it was some kind of lightening but the skies were pretty clear. I am so happy I didn't witness this alone or no one would believe it. Was this ball lightening? Can it happen without a storm? Thanks Carol Southborough, MA USA - Wednesday, February 05, 2003 at 13:18:39 (PST)

I don't expect anyone to believe me, for I don't believe this myself. The only reason why I would even relate the experience I just experienced 2 hours ago to the "ball lightning phenomenon" is because I have no other explanation for this. (I only have ever heard of this when I was a child reading an encyclopedia). I got up this morning and went and sat on my couch. Out of the corner of my eye was a flash and it looked as the corner of my living room was on fire. I moved my eyes to my bird stand and saw bright. This bright thing (like a camera flash in slow motion) was 1 foot and a half off the ground and threw itself into the bird or the bird-stand I DON'T KNOW! All of this happened within one and a half to two seconds. I was afraid to move. It scared my bird (who is a cockatoo) badly enough for her to throw her crown feathers vertical. There was no smoke. There is no evidence that it even exisisted. No burns. My bird was only shaken for moments. As for me I'm having to re-evaluate what I arrogantly thought I knew. I am writing this down immediately because even though I consider myself an honest person, the human brain likes to take events especially upsetting or exciting and try to rationalise and re-interpret the occurence leaving you with a memory that isn't 100% factual. Was it ball lightning? I have no clue. It was the closest explanation I could come up with to calm myself and try to make sense of something that dosen't make sense. I stumbled on this web-site in an attempt to comfort myself. I can't believe I just wrote that. T.Diboll <sleevecc.dsl a verizon net> woodbridge, VA USA - Wednesday, February 05, 2003 at 09:07:43 (PST)

Heading east on I-78 there was a sudden explosion near the front of my Chevy S-10. My first thought was that someone had thrown an M-80 from the side of the highway. I was tempted to turn my head to the left but before I could my attention became riveted upon a sparkling, soccer ball-sized object, directly before me, apparently fastened to the upper edge of the plastic bug deflector bolted to the front of the hood. It was blue-white in color and covered with little prickles that appeared to wander over its surface.. It hung there for several seconds even tho my highway speed must have been near 60 mph in cruise. Suddenly it tore loose and came directly toward me, skimming the hood of my pick-up,and swooping up my windshield only a foot and a half in front of my face. At a point in time when it must have been directly over my head there was a second loud report as if someone had whacked the top of my car with a baseball bat. I checked my car repeatedly for many days after this incident but there wasn't a trace of damage. However, my Delco AM/FM had lost its AM capability. This was in May of 1993 between Harrisburg and Allentown after passing thru an extremely heavy storm. Hanson, E.G. <easygeorgehow a aol com> Diamondhead, MS USA - Sunday, February 02, 2003 at 16:58:37 (PST)

On a business trip last year up to Dallas Texas, we wittenessed a violent squall line associated with a cold front moving through North Texas. These are common here in the spring time, and are always spectacular. From 80 mikes away, (just south of Corsicanna) we could see the lightning as it approached the Dallas Metroplex. As we drove into the storm, the usual hail and strong wind gusts forced us to slow down, at one piont a tornado warning was issued, and we pulled over. Looking northward along Central Expressway (75) I saw a hugh ball of electricity decend from the cloud base. It had to be the size of a car, and it was a deep blue color. The amazing thing about it was that it was slow. It decended slowly like a balloon and disappeared behind a building. I watched the newspapers the next day, and nothing......... Anyone else see this?? It was about 12:30 am last spring in the Plano/Allen area. Chris Dallas , TX USA - Saturday, February 01, 2003 at 01:36:13 (PST)

While on vacation in the island of Puerto Rico, in June 2002, in the west coast city of Mayaguez, it was raining very hard, and there was a lot of thunder; Must have been around 3:30 pm. Giant crakcles of twisted white lightning. I went outside to smoke, protected from the rain by the aluminum roof under which the car is parked. I got to the end of the roof and I started looking at the fast moving clouds, when I saw a falling "ball" that seemed almost like "a chromed billiard ball" just falling from the sky at speed, with bluish/yellowish/white radiating colors, and stretched like a "droplet" as it falls, with a "tail" like a meteor. It seemed in retrospect, like a miniature "star" in the way it radiated, but shaped like a droplet. As it reached the height of power cables, the darn thing exploded with a "pop" so loud it left my ears ringing. Right after the "explosion", there came loud thunder, and I ran inside. My fiance didn't see it, she was inside reading in bed, but just as I am flying in the door, she's coming outside asking "what the h*** was that?" I told her all confused, "a ball, falling, exploded", to which she replied, "honey, you ok ?, you look like you saw a ghost". "No ghost, chromed ball, explosion", I said. "calm down, A CHROME BALL ? What ? lighting ?, it was so loud, I thought something exploded here"... Yes, it did...I said. It took about 20 minutes for me to get the right words and sentences together, to explain what I saw. Such is the fate of those who try to explain a ball of lightning. It's unexplainable. Jose <optional a null.biz> Nashville, IN USA - Saturday, January 25, 2003 at 19:36:18 (PST)

My repot is of an object my family experienced while living in Sydney, NSW australia in the early 80's. I was too young to remember but my family has told the story many times. It was New year's eve and a number of my family members were out on the balcony, when what can only be described as a ball of light, moved slowly along the side of the house and straight past everyone who was sitting on the balcony. We are unsure what it could have been, although we had other experiences there such as "a lady floating out the back with no feet" as quoted by my sister who was no older than 4 at the time and had no knowlege of ghosts or paranormal activities. Both my parents have heard people walking through the house and my mother saw a figure walk along the end of the hall. could you help me shed some light on this as it has been talked about quite a bit over the years yet nobody has ever enquired. The house was in benson St in sydney if you know anything please email - peterandally a hotmail com peter <peterandally a hotmail com> perth, wa australia - Monday, January 20, 2003 at 05:05:49 (PST)

in the fall of 1968 i was walking on a street in downtown boston massachusettes. i was passing an alley between to tall buildings . for some reason i looked up and saw a large ball of fire , the size looked bigger than a basket ball, about the size of a volkswagon car, although it was round in shape and had red and yellow and orange flames jetting out.i saw it only for a second but it looked so intense that the sight of it has always stayed in my mind. i ran to the coner of the street to where the boston is and could get a larger veiw of the skybut, there was nothing to see, i was thinking for sure that others had seen it for the streets were crowded with people ,but, no one was looking to the sky as i thought for sure alot of people had had to of seen it. it was so intense and so out of place. so i started to question as to wether or not i had realy seen it. so, i went home and didn't tell anyone. i was in the 8th grade of school at this time and the next day at school there was a group of kids all in a hudle and as i aproached, one of the kids was talking about a great fire ball he had seen fly over the feild out side the school the day before. i said that i had seen one too around the same time he had in downtown boston. the kids just laughed at me and i walked away saying nothing, but for my own sanity knowing that i did in fact see somthing . i had just come across an article on ball lighting and came to a conclousion from other reports that this is what i may have wittnessed. bobd degloria robert degloria <bobd4 a hotmail com> groveton, nh USA - Sunday, January 19, 2003 at 12:20:10 (PST)

In July of 2000, a dry and warm night about 77 degrees. Light east wind and a Light westerly sea breeze filtering over the Coastal Mountain Range.Translation, Warm and Cold air meet. As a developing thunderstorm from the south approached, the winds picked up as well. As the storm above grew furious, about 3 lightning strikes per minute. As it was heading out of the area a "ball of light" fell from the sky and drove right past my friends house. It hit a power cercuit box and made a loud "zapping-like" sound as it disappeared. I belive that the wind uplifted into the cloud and interfered with the lightning activity cause a "cacoon like ball" to form over energy. As the ball grew bigger, the cloud had to get rid of it and it fell to earth. This unkown occurance can be explained to the interference of the electrical activity with two winds. This is juts one theory I have made official! E-mail me! Grant L. <grantleblanc88 a hotmail com> McMinnville, OR USA - Monday, January 13, 2003 at 14:54:10 (PST)

I have close up photos of ball lighting,50 to 75 ft. away on 35 mm, film for sale.. This is not a hoax or fake photos they are real,I also have the original film strip and cam I used. What is the offer for them ? Carl De Poy Carl De Poy <depoy a intelos net> swoope, va USA - Saturday, January 04, 2003 at 22:34:27 (PST)

I am a physicist who has read about ball lightning with interest for many years, and finally last night got to see some (even if my wife got a better view!) December 28th 2002 in Melbourne was a hot day with a very warm, completely still evening (about 31 degrees at 9:20pm when the phenomenon occurred). No thunder or lightning activity around, which makes this unusual. We had a pedestal fan near an open window, and about six metres away in the opposite corner of the loungeroom the TV set on a low wooden stand. Both appliances had been on for several hours, no doubt building up plenty of static electricity. We observed a orange ball with a reddish core (core reported by my wife - I did not see it in that detail), about the size of a tennis ball, move rapidly from the direction of the fan to a metre above the TV set, where it looked like it "dissolved" near a ceiling light. The whole thing took less than two seconds. The lights were down low, but I would estimate the orange light as equivalent to a 100 watt bulb. It brightened the whole room. The afterimage (I was not looking at it when it started) showed me a roughly horizontal path, maybe rising. Very unexpected, and very puzzling! Darren O'Shaughnessy <darren a rankingsoftware com> Melbourne, VIC Australia - Saturday, December 28, 2002 at 22:34:22 (PST)

1. From Mr John Parker---North Ferriby,East Yorkshire. UK Time Approximately 1430 hrs Sunday 27 June 1999. Place Sitting room of bungalow--- 8 persons present. A violent thunderstorm was taking place, very heavy dark cloud with forked and sheet lightning, which had been ongoing for about 30 minutes. A sudden violent clap of thunder shook the house with its intensity, at the same time a ball of light, about the size of a childs rugby ball, not round but oval, about 8 inches long, emerged from behind a chair which obscured the central heating air duct ( presumably the ball entered the room via the duct.). The ball floated round that chair then across the knees (up one side of the legs over knees and then down the other side of legs )of the occupant of a second chair. It then floated across the room and into the screen of the television set dissolving across the screen silently. The screen lit up with a normal TV glow, the glow extinguished after a few seconds. There was no damage to the television. There was no noise from the ball but it glowed blue, white, orange and green with a continuous flourescent glow, also there was a pungent smell. The event seemed of long duration but must only have lasted for a few seconds. The television had been unplugged but the areil was left plugged in. 2. From Mrs Carol Bartle--- Brough, East Yorkshire. Time Early afternoon, Sunday 27 June 1999. Place Sitting room of semi-detached house. Mrs Bartle was sitting down looking out through the French windows watching the rain and lightning from the storm. After a very bright flash and almost instantaneous crash of thunder, a yellow/blue florescent snake like light, about the diameter of a florescent tube but with jagged edges appeared to enter the room through the French windows. This circled the room at about ceiling height around the walls then moved to the central light fitting, circled that and then disappeared by reducing its lenght to zero. Time elapsed was estimated to be approximately 10 seconds. Mrs Bartle told me the house next door experienced a similar event. However the " snake-like" light went into the TV set and damaged it. I extracted the details above through careful questioning and took care not to " lead " the witnesses. North Ferriby and Brough are about 3 miles apart. I made the notes for this report on the Monday following the events, memories were good and clear. I had known the people concerned in this report for some years and in no way doubt the veracity of their experience. While I am on the subject,a friend of mine whilst taking a bath during a thunderstorm experienced a blue ball of light appear out of the ceiling,slowly descend to the floor passing through it to the kitchen below where it exploded causing considerable damage. This however was fifty years ago when such optics were obviously illusions! The damage caused was put down to a gas leak. Malcolm Christophers. <mcc a lundville.freeserve co uk> York, United Kingdom - Sunday, December 22, 2002 at 09:40:12 (PST)

I witnessed ball lightning/ Saint Elmos Fire at the El Segundo Chevron Refinery about 15 years ago. I was working the night shift and the atmosphere seemed to be electrified. The ball lightning was a wierd blue ghostlike color and was running down the high voltage conductors that was feeding a substation. The substation was 13.2kv and was feeding large compressor motors. The lightning traveled on all three phases for about 1/4 mile jumped down the riser leading to the substation and dissappeared. I had a co-worker with me and we both thoght it was the strangest thing either of us has ever seen. Ronald Newby Nipomo , Ca USA - Friday, December 20, 2002 at 08:55:11 (PST)

One night, I can't remember when, I was looking outside my kitchen window and I swore I saw about 6 or 7 different moons. There were green and yellow and that is what I can remember. I wish I can see it again. Mush <mushg a shaw ca> Sherwood Park, Alberta Canada - Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 07:39:06 (PST)

My wife and I used to live in Nashville, TN. This was around 1979 or 1980 and we were driving on Granny White Pike in a terrable thunderstorm. Lightning was striking all around and suddenly it began to rain in buckets. I could barely see, it was extremely dark also, though it had been an extremely hot summer day and was around 5:00 P.M. Suddenly as I was approaching a corner, lightning struck a power pole with three large transformers on it. There was a tremendous surge of thunder, the kind where you think you are having a heart attack it was so loud. The lightening arced for a couple of seconds and sparks flew from the wiring then a sparkling ball of white hot gasses, it had a sort of brilliant blue-green tint to it, floated down from the pole. This was accompanied by a lot of smaller ones that disappeared fairly quickly. The main one was about the size of a basketball and floated down gracefully to the street. It touched the pavement and floated back up a couple of times, as if repelled or bouncing off the pavement, then sort of settled down almost as if rolling, though I don't think it ever really touched the pavement at that point. All the time there were sparks flying from it like a sparkler. It finally rolled to the curb where there was maybe six inches of water running and upon striking the curb exploded in a shower of sparks. It was really a breathtaking experience I have never seen again. I understand from reading I have done, that this is a classic gas plasma ball and the blue-green tint it took on was probably the metallic ions from the power lines. It was never-the-less an awesome experience. Also interesting was the fact that we drove perhaps another mile and the storm was over and the sun came out. Gary Collins <collgra530 a cs com> Johnson City, TN USA - Sunday, December 15, 2002 at 14:26:19 (PST)

This would have happened in 1993 or so, but I can't recall any details about the weather conditions. I was sitting in my bedroom with my cat when a small bright blue-white ball of light, about the size of a large marble, came in through the window glass and drifted around in circles underneath a table. The cat and I looked at the phenomenon and back at each other's faces several times - I don't think I'm anthropomorphizing when I say she was checking to see if I was seeing the same thing she was. The astonished "are you seeing what I'm seeing" expression on her furry face was unmistakable. The little blue-white ball didn't make any noise and after 30 to 45 seconds blipped out and vanished. I could see thin white visual trails after it had gone. My next door neighbor was a ham radio guy, and had a network of wires all around the neighborhood. We experienced other odd phenomena that I think must have been related to his equipment. Ruth <xochicoatl a yahoo com> Irvine, CA USA - Monday, December 09, 2002 at 13:17:38 (PST)

Well...its been awhile since this happened, but I've been inspired recently to read all of your shared stories of phenomenal events, and so I'll share mine as well, and _maybe_ I'll get some feedback. I was 18 (I'm only 21 now), living with my parents on land that had been in our family for many years, in the outskirts of a small town near Aiken South Carolina. (I give this info in case anyone else has had this experience) I had/still have a friend who was going to spend the night at my house, but decided against it at the last minute, and so I drove him home. Lets just say that I pay attention to reports of events and attempt to keep myself in tune in the attempt to noticing anything out of the normal scope of scientific expression. (ie: x-files junkie) _However_ that night had been an exception, and as to my recollection, I had no thought or discussion that day about paranormal or unexplainable events with anyone, including my friend whom I had just dropped off. The time was late, heading somewhere towards 10pm, and I was my way back home. The turn-off road a half-mile away from my house was approaching, and I let my foot off of the accelerator instinctively. At or around that time, I peer over to the right and noticed something that I had seen at least a few times before: a 'fuzzy' light in the sky. For what was probably 20 seconds I kept shifting my eyes between the object and the road. I say it was fuzzy because of the quick glances I caught of it. Since I was already slowing down, curiousity got to the best of me, as it normally did/does, and I stopped on the road to gather more details of this object. Now at this point my instincts telling me that this was just a plane was still in control, but something else was surely in control of my hands and feet when I put the car in park and opened the door to get outside so I could see the object better. (:: admits that I've always been a very scared person and normally sleeps w/ the lights on if I'm by myself::) As I recall, at the time, it just seemed like the right thing to do, and in the back of my head, I knew this was the most 'promising' object that I'd ever set eyes on. By the way, there were no other cars that ever came by during this whole event. I stepped towards the front of the car - near the left tire, and keep my eyes glued to the object. And then it happend. Something that I'd never seen before, and haven't seen since. This object, that, at least a few seconds ago, was progressing at what seemed like a slow clip away from me far away in the night sky, suddenly grew into an even more present object in the sky, dimming out all other stars/planets in that area. My gaze was still fixed, but my elation/excitement grew to untapped levels as this object started gaining details to its glowy appearance. The central color seemed to stay at a dull white throughout, but as the object got closer and closer, its shape seemed to go from circular, to tubular. It may have been tubular (yes, like a zeppelin (sp) the whole time, but only with it closer, did I notice the detail. Either way..the white ended up giving ground to multi colored smaller orbs that appeared to circle the main object. It 'felt' as if the object was at tree level 30 feet in front of me ..but at the same time..it was so hard to tell the distance. At that instant...when I finally realized that this is _DEFINETLY_ out of my concept of reality...a sense of urgency hit me and I guess I came back to my senses. Basically I got scared. I only remember my car door slamming and rushing home faster than I should have (there are many deer out at night you know) without looking back. I did not pay attention to time so I cannot tell you that it wasn't right. I only had one thought on my mind that stayed, and that was that I wanted to show this to someone else. If I had to estimate, I would say I was outside of my car for 3 minutes playing stare-down with the object (the object won), and so I figured that my dad (who is accepting of unexplained things that exist around us) would be great for verifying this with me. I drove strait down the center of our yard (shortest distance to the house) and stopped the car, and raced inside the front door to find my dad, thankfully, already dressed and in the living room. I swung the door open and simply looked at my parents and with a determined stare, and before I could say "Get in the car" we heard a loud crash right outside. I almost passed from the adrenaline. I turned to look and the car had hit the house! Well..the porch. I apparently did not bother to put the car in park. NOW I turned to my dad and said "Get in the car" without much excitement required in my voice, because I was sure he knew what was going on. Thankfully the car wasn't damaged (much) and the porch didn't even feel it, but as most of these _darned_ stories go....we got back out to the site, and of course, this object, was gone. There's much more detail, but I leave it out in sake of saving space on the site. I'm willing to share more if anyone is interested or has a comment. Email is above. Keith <bkhair a sc rr com> SC USA - Sunday, December 08, 2002 at 19:02:56 (PST)

It happened one muggy afternoon, in late summer of 1997. I was driving home along Richmond Rd. along the base of Mount Tolmie. I saw this orange irridescent "basketball" floating over many people's front lawns, in a direct path parrallel to the road. I originally thought it was a huge "soap bubble" made from children's soap wands. Then the "basketball" grew larger and glowed orangey-white, yet remained a perfect sphere. I was quite amazed and half expected "Glinda, the Good Witch of the North" to materialize out of it. I pulled the car over and watched it travel out of sight, past some trees. Once back home, there were a few raised eyebrows, as nobody knew what the heck I was talking about. I did some research later (cuz I knew it wasn't Glinda OR Candid Camera) and found out that what I saw was ball lightening! It really was very beautiful. There were no thunder storms that day in Victoria, it was just overcast, yet sunny and muggy. I understand that not many people ever see this phenomona in their life time, so I feel lucky! B. Bruce Victoria, BC Canada - Friday, November 29, 2002 at 23:01:33 (PST)

In approximately 1970-71 in July, I was sitting on the steps of my side porch near Boise State University at the S.W. corner of Lincoln and Belmont, petting my calico cat. I looked at the neighbor's house located on the SE corner and up at their power pole. Suddenly a very white bright ball of light was sparkling with a loud crackling sound like a big sparkler on the transformer of the power pole. It was about the size of a beachball. After a moment, perhaps 2 seconds in length, there was a terribly loud, "BLAM!!!!" which scared the daylights out of me and my cat. I stood up and looked at the clear sunny sky, then noticed a big black thunder cloud coming up behind the house from the N.W. in a position that I would have not noticed when sitting on the porch. After that, a brief thunder storm occured. as the cloud moved over me. I have lived in many parts of the country, spend a lot of time outdoors, but have never seen a ball of lightning any other time. I am 58 years old. H Marie Baldner <mariebaldner a worldnet.att net> Boise, ID USA - Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 20:39:33 (PST)

Jos Nigeria, rainy season, 1979 or 1980 - i was in 9th or 10th grade, a student at Hillcrest School. Standing with classmates between classes in the center of the 90 degree angle formed by the open, columed high school building, watching the usual rains. I was looking uphill, my view being the school grounds, sloping down to the soccer field, beyond which ran a stream. The land then rose to a triangular patch of undeveloped land framed by a highway on the left and a smaller road to the right. Just past this triangle, on the far side of the highway, was a middle class development of concrete houses with galvanized sheet metal roofing. I saw a direct hit of typical lightning strike in the vicinity of a house. It was perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 a mile from me. The lightning bolt dissipated, but within a second or two a very large (12 to 15') metallic ball rose, slowly up into the air. It reached a height equivalent to the roof of the structure (a house) it was next to - about 15'to 20'. It then dissipated, leaving no image. It existed for about 4 seconds. Visually it was perfectly round and had a solid silver appearance, with a definite glow or shimmer. It moved steadily upward, and i assumed it was on a pole. I knew the place well, since my family home was within a quarter mile, futher up the hill, below a volcanic formation known as "mother flattop". I grabbed and yelled for my nearby classmates to look but they were not quick enough to see where i pointed before it was gone. I clearly remember walking to the site, some days later, expecting to find a damaged house, or at least a scorched pole, but the house was a simple retangle and there was no evidence of any fire, any pole or anything that might have given the ball some tracking for its vertical rise. Thats it - except that I have always been the one to notice and point out the visual oddities, and Jos, Nigeria has one of the highest amounts of lightning in the world. sten evenhouse <stene3 a yahoo com> brooklyn, ny USA - Tuesday, November 19, 2002 at 20:14:04 (PST)

Ball Lightning. I have personally seen this phenomena twice so far in my life. Once was when i was 6 yrs old and living in south Alabama. It appeared before the brunt of a severe thunderstorm occured. The BL was the size of a soccerball and passed through the sideyard of our house just missing a propane tank . It was bluish in color and it rotated on a vertical axis as it floated by the window we were looking out of. It appeared to be about a foot off ground and travelled very slowly ( less than 2 miles per hour) towards a dog wire fence. The BL then passed through the fence and in the proccess burned a hole in the fencing ( holes was about 7 inches in diameter) and continued through a neighbors backyard same speed till it stuck a huge pecan tree and exploded. The explosion took a huge scallop out of the pecan tree and in the process gave off an aurora that seemd to hang in the midst for just a second. The second experience was during a thunderstorm at night and i was working for an apparel manufacturer. I returned back to work from lunch while working a second shift. On the way back to work i ran into heavy winds and lightning and just before i reached the plant where i worked things had subsided there but the storm was very active in the near distance. As i walked from my car back to the personnel door to plant i saw a bright flash of lightning and glanced back to parking lot too see what my have been struck. As i did so i noticed an orange glowing sphere the size of a tennis ball and it was moving in an up and down fashion as it moved across the parking lot. It seem to not change rythm nor speed but continued till it landed in back of a co-workers pickup truck exploding with a mild report and once again it as reported in first encounter it had an aurora about it as it expended its self. After the distant lightning subsided i went to co-workers truck to check for damage and observed none. henry mathis <forest gump945766> boaz , al USA - Friday, November 15, 2002 at 17:37:48 (PST)

I was around the age of 13, (20 now) and was walking home from a friends house. It was pretty muggy out, and had just started to storm. About 20 feet infront of me I witnessed what I thought was a parked car get hit by lightning, and somehow managed to confine the electrical charge, because it was sitting there- pulsing and swirling. It lasted for only a few seconds, then 'exploded' - sounded like a shotgun went off in my ear. I later found out that it was probably ball lightning, and after walking forward more, i noticed the car was actually around 10 feet behind the ball, so my idea at first couldn't have happened. I also had a rather wierd experience involving normal lightning. We just finished packing the UHaul truck and were saying goodbye to family and friends (moving down here to jacksonville- around 16 years old) and it started to get pretty nasty out. The next event, I have absolutely no idea what caused it, and I was the only one that experienced it- even though there were about 8 other people within arms reach from me. I went completely blind, but it wasn't darkness- all I could see was bright red. It didn't happen for more than a split second, but enough to scare me. Right when this happened, I heard a loud boom. My knees got a tad weak when this happened, so I asked what happened. A few of the people said they saw the lightning, but it was far away- miles away, but was real bright. Has anyone ever had this happen? I could understand if I was looking at it when it happened, but I wasn't, and when I told the others what happened, they looked at me like I was crazy. Joshua S <joshuas2001 a attbi com> jacksonville, FL USA - Thursday, November 14, 2002 at 23:34:19 (PST)

This happened in 1987. I was at my home in Minneapolis, MN with my mom on a clear day. We were doing the dishes in the kitchen when we heard a loud static sound in the other room. My mom went to go see what it was while I stayed in the kitchen. In the next room we have a TV that had been acting up lately. After she had left the room for a few seconds, I heard my mom scream, and soon the kitchen filled up with a bright blue color. I remember seeing this ball about the size of a grapefruit come out from the wall next to the other room and go right past me. It was about waist high and about 2 feet in front of me. I could feel the heat as it went past. It went straight through the room and went into the outside wall. I just stood there motionless. After another 3 seconds or so I heard an explosion. Our neighbors? about three houses down had a car that was on their driveway. It had just blown up for no reason. I think that it was this big blue ball. After all that my mom came running from the other room. She was shaking and she barely managed to get out the words, ?Did you see that? It came from the TV and just missed me.? The next day we decided to get a new TV. Tim Carlson <timothy carlson a mnsu edu> Minneapolis, MN USA - Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at 16:39:54 (PST)

It was about 1960. My brother and I (about 9 and 10) accompanied our mother on an errand. We stayed in the car. In the overcast summer sky, we saw a glowing ball, golden I believe, wandering past at a low altitude. It left a glowing trail. We watched as it disappeared over a building, then heard a loud bang like a lightning strike. As science and sci-fi nuts, we knew what we had seen---ball lightning! I don't recall what our mother thought of the whole thing when we told her. Denton Warn <dwarn a msinter net> Hutchinson, KS USA - Tuesday, November 05, 2002 at 16:05:53 (PST)

In 1989 my brother-in-law was standing in the door way of my home. I was standing inside talking to him. There has a light rain with some thunder and lightning. The sky turned a greenish color and a bright white ball formed in the sky it turned a deep orange and started to move just as quickly as it appeared. Seeing how frightened I had become my brother-in-law turned around to look behind him and ran in the house the ball gained speed as it traveled in a 45 degree angle toward a power transformer mounted on a telephone pole. The ball was about 2 foot in diameter when it apeared, by the time it hit the pool it was 8 foot in diameter with sparks flying from it. It hit the pool with so much power that it split it in two and set it on fire. will parkhills, mo USA - Monday, October 28, 2002 at 16:10:03 (PST)