Latest news with #JonathanErdman
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
A Southwest plane was seemingly struck by lightning during Memorial Day weekend
A Southwest Airlines crew reported that their plane was struck by lightning on Memorial Day Weekend. The Aviation Herald reported that air traffic control was unable to hear the pilots as a result. The plane was taken out of service for inspection, the airline said. A Southwest Airlines plane was seemingly struck by lightning while on approach to landing. Flight 168, from Tampa, Florida, to Denver, took off around 7 p.m. local time on Sunday — about two and a half hours behind schedule, per data from Flightradar24. The journey, during the busy Memorial Day travel period, appeared to be going smoothly until it was about to land. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the flight crew reported a lightning strike. A Southwest spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that there was "a possible lightning strike" on the aircraft. "Our maintenance teams took the aircraft out of service for inspection. There were no injuries," the spokesperson added. The Aviation Herald reported that air traffic control could no longer hear the pilots after the strike. However, it added that controllers were able to transmit instructions to them, and the 737 landed safely in Denver 12 minutes later. Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist at told the outlet that the airport reported lightning in the hour before the flight landed. "This is a challenge flying into and out of Denver this time of year, as afternoon and evening thunderstorms can be almost a daily occurrence," he added. The National Weather Service says airliners are struck by lightning about once or twice a year on average. Jets avoid thunderstorms as much as possible because aircraft can trigger strikes because their presence enhances the electric fields found in storms. Commercial planes are designed with several parts to help mitigate the impact of lightning, such as a metal mesh that conducts electricity away from passengers and internal electronics. Last New Year's Eve, a United Airlines plane from Newark to London turned around and diverted to Boston after the crew reported a lightning strike. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Climate
- Business Insider
A Southwest plane was seemingly struck by lightning during Memorial Day weekend
A Southwest Airlines plane was seemingly struck by lightning while on approach to landing. Flight 168, from Tampa, Florida, to Denver, took off around 7 p.m. local time on Sunday — about two and a half hours behind schedule, per data from Flightradar24. The journey, during the busy Memorial Day travel period, appeared to be going smoothly until it was about to land. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the flight crew reported a lightning strike. A Southwest spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that there was "a possible lightning strike" on the aircraft. "Our maintenance teams took the aircraft out of service for inspection. There were no injuries," the spokesperson added. The Aviation Herald reported that air traffic control could no longer hear the pilots after the strike. However, it added that controllers were able to transmit instructions to them, and the 737 landed safely in Denver 12 minutes later. Jonathan Erdman, a senior meteorologist at told the outlet that the airport reported lightning in the hour before the flight landed. "This is a challenge flying into and out of Denver this time of year, as afternoon and evening thunderstorms can be almost a daily occurrence," he added. The National Weather Service says airliners are struck by lightning about once or twice a year on average. Jets avoid thunderstorms as much as possible because aircraft can trigger strikes because their presence enhances the electric fields found in storms. Commercial planes are designed with several parts to help mitigate the impact of lightning, such as a metal mesh that conducts electricity away from passengers and internal electronics. Last New Year's Eve, a United Airlines plane from Newark to London turned around and diverted to Boston after the crew reported a lightning strike.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Possible Lightning Strike' Hits Southwest Airlines Plane During Memorial Day Weekend Storms
A Southwest Airlines plane heading into Denver from Tampa was likely hit by lightning as it descended during storms on Sunday evening. In a statement the airline said Flight 168 'sustained a possible lightning strike' but landed safely at Denver International Airport and no injuries were reported. Emergency crews at the airport responded to the plane following protocol, according to local reports. Maintenance teams also took the aircraft out of service for inspection, the airline said. A passenger on the flight told KUSA that a loud bang was heard throughout the plane's cabin as they experienced rough turbulence about 20 minutes before landing. (MORE: Could We See The First Tropical Storm Of 2025 This Week?) Denver International Airport reported both in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning in several observations from just over an hour before landing, to just before the flight landed, according to senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. He added that radar showed thundershowers extended from near DIA into the plains east of the airport and 'This is a challenge flying into and out of Denver this time of year, as afternoon and evening thunderstorms can be almost a daily occurrence.' Commercial passenger planes are designed to withstand lightning and the National Weather Service says planes are hit by lightning an 'average of one to two times a year.' Storms across parts of the south and central United States caused travel delays during the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, with hundreds of delays reported at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and in Denver on Sunday and Monday as travelers made their way back home. MORE ON - Wet, Stormy Pattern Persists For South - NOAA Predicts More Active Than Average Hurricane Season
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
When Could The Atlantic Hurricane Season's First Storm Form?
The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season "officially" arrives soon, and we're getting some hints as to when we might see the first tropical storm of the season form. - We could see the season's first storm, named "Andrea", form as soon as the middle of June. - That's because some long-range computer models suggest the tropical Atlantic Basin may come under the influence of rising air and lower wind shear from something called the Madden-Julian Oscillation. That's an environment supportive of thunderstorms, which are the building blocks of tropical storms. - It's far too soon to be certain this will occur and where, but tropical development in June usually happens either in the western Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or off the Southeast U.S. coast. (MORE: 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook) - In the satellite era, the season's first storm has developed most often in June. From 1966 through 2024, the average date of the first storm of hurricane season is June 10. - Last year, Tropical Storm Alberto formed in the western Gulf on June 17. - But as the graph below shows, there's considerable spread, especially recently. Only two of the past 10 hurricane seasons have had the first storm form in June. Five of those 10 years have had a May storm, including four straight years from 2018 through 2021. (MORE: 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season Name List Includes One Newby) - Occasionally, these first storms of the season can be impactful, especially given that they typically form closer to land early in the season. - Last June, Tropical Storm Alberto produced flooding rain and 1 to 4 feet of storm surge along the coast of northeast Mexico and Texas. - In 2010, Alex quickly strengthened from a late June tropical storm to a Category 2 hurricane before slamming into northeast Mexico with a surge, up to 35 inches of flooding rain and damaging winds. Now – not in the days before a hurricane strikes – is a good time to refresh or develop a plan. That includes knowing if you live in an evacuation zone, assembling a disaster kit at home, making your home as resilient as possible, checking on your insurance policy and making an inventory of your belongings. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: The Joplin EF5 Tornado
In a spring of historic tornado outbreaks, a single late May tornado in southwest Missouri was the mic drop on a truly terrible 2011. On May 22, 2011, 14 years ago today, an EF5 tornado tore a six-mile long and up to mile-wide path of devastation through Joplin, Missouri. One hundred fifty-eight people lost their lives directly due to the EF5 tornado, the nation's deadliest tornado since 1947, which was before tornado warnings were routinely issued. Its damage scar was difficult to put into context, even by many experienced meteorologists. (MORE: What Our Meteorologists Haven't Forgotten About Joplin) "The western half to two-thirds of the track featured defoliated and debarked trees, scouring, parking blocks scraped from the ground with the rebar and deposited well away from parking lots, a lot of debris loading as it progressed," John Gagan, science and operations officer at the NWS office near Milwaukee, and a forecaster at the Springfield, Missouri, NWS office at the time of the tornado, told in 2021. According to an NIST report, 553 businesses and 7,411 homes were damaged or destroyed, affecting than more than 17,000 residents. The tornado produced about 4.1 million cubic yards of residential and commercial debris, according to "32 Minutes in May," a book published by the Joplin Globe. The Joplin tornado remains the costliest single tornado in modern U.S. history, with damage estimated at $3.98 billion (adjusted for inflation to 2025). It was one of 48 tornadoes on May 22, including an EF1 in the Minneapolis metro that claimed one life. A mid-April South and Carolinas outbreak was followed less than two weeks later by one of the nation's worst Super Outbreaks. This boosted April 2011's tornado tally to a record for any month in the modern era (758). Just two days after Joplin, a May 24-26 outbreak of 186 tornadoes killed 18 in the Plains and South, including an EF5 tornado through El Reno, Pedmont and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
