Lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun. It strikes 8.6 million times a day and is one of the most powerful forces nature has to offer. This past week, one Arkansas farmer had a close encounter with lightning, one that was caught on camera.
Clay Smith lives and farms in northeast Arkansas. Storms rolled through on Wednesday morning, and what happened as he was on his front porch is an experience Smith will never forget.
Thought it was a good time to spray those mosquitos @ryanvaughan @weatherchannel ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Iz9dJdMDcV
— Clay Smith (@CsmithFarms1) June 14, 2023
Smith posted the video from his Ring security camera on Twitter. As you can see, the lightning struck a tree in his front yard, and the loud crash clearly startled Smith. It was so loud he knew the lightning was close.
“The lightning rang my ears like a gun going off,” Smith says.
As you can see in the video, Smith hurried to the garage after the lightning struck.
“I can’t believe the Ring camera caught it on video,” Smith says. “The funny thing is my wife was in the living room watching it, too, so we both saw it and got a video.”
— Clay Smith (@CsmithFarms1) June 14, 2023
After the storm passed, he went out to assess the damage, showing a clear lightning strike on the tree in his front yard.
“I bet that oak tree is 150 years old,” Smith says. “I hope it makes it through and survives. I keep telling everyone that’s the only reason I bought the property.”
Smith says the storm did bring hail, which damaged crops 20 miles north of where he lives in Walcott, Ark., which is near Jonesboro. He says they were dry in the spring, and all the crops were planted early. They’ve had a few strong storms, but otherwise, that area is all irrigated and the crops are growing ahead of schedule.
