Lightning doesn’t always strike the ground, but when it does, it has a tendency to wreak havoc. In this particular instance, the runway at Richmond International Airport (RIC) was the unfortunate target of a wild electrical storm. There was significant damage caused as a lightning strike from the clouds to the ground created a rather substantial-sized—meaning it’s not something you’d want to encounter at high speeds—hole in the runway.
In our opinion, the photo, which was captured by Richmond Airport Ops and shared by the airport management, is remarkable for two distinct reasons. Firstly, it vividly depicts the immense voltage associated with a lightning strike, highlighting why one should never be in its path. And secondly, it showcases the sheer magnitude of the lightning’s voltage! Note, as some readers have pointed out, that not only is the hole melted; there is also no debris present, suggesting that the lightning strike vaporized the asphalt. Thankfully, the airport has already repaired the pothole and completed the task safely, as lightning didn’t strike twice.
Click to view the full-sized images:
