A recent thunderstorm that rumbled over a Central High School day hit a tree on the school’s grounds.

By Ann Sheehy

During the school day last week on April 25, one of the trees on the far side of Central’s football field was struck by lightning. It sustained no major damage and thankfully did not start a fire.

During the thunderstorm that day, Central security guards Doug Alfson and Jack Gray saw a flash and heard thunder almost immediately. They went through CHS’s security camera footage until they found the video showing the tree being struck; then they slowed the video down to capture the moment when lightning hit the tree.

It was more a matter of finding the footage than of whether or not they had it; according to Central’s security guards, there are 8-10 cameras in the courtyard along with cameras on every corner of the school, so not much happens on Central’s grounds that they can’t see.

The tree that got hit has no obvious lightning damage (such as burn marks, cracks, or large broken branches), but there were bits of bark and small branches scattered on the grass around it. The tree could recover and be fine, or it could have more long-term issues (even though there’s no obvious damage); it’s a matter of wait and see how it does.

The reason lightning can do so much damage to a tree is that it’s hotter than the surface of the sun. When lightning hits a tree, it’s so hot that it vaporizes the water inside the tree’s cells. That water vapor takes up a lot more space than the liquid water did, and when it expands so much, it blows apart the cells. That can cause the tree to explode or blow off its bark (kind of like popcorn).