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Britain's Worst Weather

The Programmes

Floods | Lightning | Storms | Snow


Lightning


Nick in the lightning suit

Nick appears, Frankenstein-style, sporting a lightning suit with 340 volts of electricity bristling from his fingers. He emerges unscathed and explains that it's the amperage that kills, not the voltage. A typical lightning strike, we discover, could be 10 miles long, one-inch thick and carry a current of 10,000 amps – imagine that in relation to your average domestic supply which carries 13 amps.

Nick investigates the true causes of Britain's most eerie element. But instead of demonic forces, he finds atmospheric warmth, moisture and unstable air.


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