See a rare lightning strike hit Seattle's Space Needle
A sizzling lightning strike cuts through the sky around the landmark Space Needle in an eye-opening video.
Seattle's iconic Space Needle tower stands a whopping 605 feet (184 meters). Despite resembling a giant antenna, it doesn't actually attract much lightning. That's why it's so fascinating to see lightning strike the top of the Needle on a stormy day in Washington state.
The Space Needle shared a short video clip on social media on Monday showing a bright, flashing strike. The tower was never in any danger from the blustery conditions. "The Needle is built to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles per hour," notes the Space Needle's website. Only a few lightning strikes a year actually touch the building, but the 25 lightning rods on the roof easily handle the load.
Facebook users had a field day imagining what happened after the short video. One asked if anyone spotted wires running from the Space Needle to a DeLorean.
Facebook fan Bill Muse spun a fanciful short story about the Space Needle "stomping through the city, its top whirling like a saw blade, cutting the Columbia Center in half, smashing every pane in the main library, crushing the Amazon orbs, before being challenged by Bertha the tunnel-boring machine in a clash of titans that ends with them both toppling, smoking and spent, into Elliot Bay on top of the ferry Klakitishisumwak."
A peek at the Space Needle's webcam seems to indicate the tower did not actually come to life, break free from its moorings and rampage across downtown Seattle, though I think we would all like to see that scenario made into an effects-laden movie.
If you're into seeing lightning strikes touch down on famous landmark buildings, be sure to catch this video of a strike hitting the Empire State Building in New York City last year.
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