The same thing happened to ny house. If u want the vid of my house, search up : North Carolina house DESTROYED by lightning strike Channel name is WCNC

The loud afterbooming sound gives away that this was definitely a positive strike. A bit rare to see it with so much 'preflashes' happening as they usually happen without any visual warning upfront. Lived through one at something like 100 meter distance once (about 30 feet I guess) which was definitely was a terrifying experience. Negative strikes usually are short and loud as well, but die down quickly. Though it will probably be hard to say if the afterbooming after about a minute originate from this same strike, it definitely goes on for a looong time.

positive lighting are generally a single flash, while negative lightning will have that pulsing flashing that is more common. also, when viewed from farther away, positive lightning is usually a smooth column with no branches, while negative is jagged with multiple branches.

Wrong - as NOAA puts it: "Positive lightning is usually composed of one stroke (negative lightning typically consists of two or more strokes)." The myth of positive lightning being stronger is exactly that: a myth. Somebody said powerful strokes are positive and the 'net picked up the rumor. I dealt with the aftermath of lightning strikes way too many times as a comm field tech with a Fortune 100 electric company. It never made any difference to me whether the polarity was positive or negative. Lightning is lightning.

​@@flagmichaelbro there's so much wrong with this comment

That thunder is much higher in the clouds near where that bolt originated, since it's much farther away, the thunder is a softer rumble.

I have no idea how that hoax started. Positive strikes are rarer, but no more powerful than a negative strike. Since most strikes include 2-3 return strokes and positive strikes rarely have any. positive strikes are (arguably) _less_ powerful than normal negative ones.

I don't know how the "monster positive lightning strike" myth started, but none of the things you cite have anything at all to do with polarity. The rumble is from terrain, the width of the channel is actually visual "blowout" (it was much narrower than it appeared... lightning always is), rain or absence is no indicator of anything at all. The one thing nobody mentions but is the only true thing about the relatively rare "positive lightning" is that positive strokes less often have return strokes. The visual duration suggests - but does not prove - it was a negative stroke.

That is the silliest thing I have seen yet about positive lightning. Reverberation is 100% terrain, not the characteristics of the lightning. Positive lightning is less common and scarcely different but on average less powerful than ordinary (negative) lightning.

No this is a negative. Positive lighting is much more powerful and louder

@@violetharmon5064 Both are wrong. Positive lightning is slightly _less_ powerful on average. How that hoax started is beyond me. If you had a high speed camera (like the slo mo guys) you could see the strike is not as likely to have multiple strokes if it is positive. You don't want to be affected by either.

It was in Fernandina Beach, FL

Exactly the same as negative lightning bolt, in spite of internet misinformation. The only significant difference between the two is the lower incidence of return strokes due to the lower incidence of positive charged areas in the sky.

That's the risk I take as a storm chaser, if I feel it's too close for comfort, I take cover in my car or in my house

Take it from a guy who has battled lightning damage at communication sites for decades and is putting together a "lightning hardening" program for operators of communication sites. There is no practical difference for most people, but from my standpoint the lower incidence of return strokes in positive lightning is a plus. Positive lightning is somewhat less powerful, but hardening measures have to be based on worst likely case. I know the internet rumor is that positive lightning strikes are more powerful, but in the real world they are less damaging because return strokes are less common. "Negative" lightning has on average 2-3 return strokes. That does not matter much to most of us, but electronics does not appreciate it at all! Anyway, hardening sies means protecting against all lightning, and we take on whatever comes. So, what would we notice about positive lightning? If you listen to an AM radio you can hear the electrical activity of lightning. Most strikes produce a "kkkk" sound; but occasionally you may here a single snap. If you had to bet, you could bet that snap was positive lightning.

All do.

It is way beyond impressive close up. Not a roof, but a tower of our comm site on Mt. Elden outside Flagstaff, AZ. With only a short distance and no obstacles between us, it is overwhelming how loud thunder is that close in! No rumble or boom, just an earth-shattering BANG!!! My eyes recovered faster than my ears and nerves did.

oh yes, it was extremely loud it almost blew out the windows from the shockwave.

@@VinnyT-rr6lh yes positive CG are extremely loud and causes a big and strong multiple shockwaves. .. nice catch bro thanks for sharing it with us

It would be about the same if positive; the hoax about positive lightning being more powerful is just that. I don't know how that silly hoax got started.