Lightning hits Utah. Photo: Jon G. Fuller/VWPics and Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Thursday morning, I was jolted awake by a loud boom.
State of play: I knew it was lightning, but the thunderclap lasted several seconds and its intensity was unlike anything I'd previously experienced.
- I reached out to the National Weather Service to learn what caused it.
Details: A thunderstorm moved through Salt Lake City around 3am Thursday and produced three lightning strikes, NWS meteorologist John Cecava told Axios in an email.
- The roar was likely the result of a cloud-to-cloud strike that hit near the Salt Lake City International Airport, he noted.
- "This type of lightning strike that occurred was a positive strike. Most lightning strikes are negative strikes, but the positive strikes tend to be stronger," he said.
- Positive lightning is rare and accounts for less than 5% of all strikes, per the NWS.
What to watch (and listen for): A chance of rain and thunderstorms is forecasted in Salt Lake City for most of next week.
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