So, what exactly does lightning do when it strikes a tree?

Feb 28, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LIGHTNING HITS A TREE When lightning hits a tree, damage can range along a scale from minimally invasive to explosive.

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As soon as lightning strikes the tree, water in its cells can start to boil causing steam to form. The expanding steam can explode, cracking bark or even stripping it off the shrubpruning.barted Reading Time: 4 mins. Dec 21, When an already vulnerable tree is truck the lightning will travel through the core of the tree with significant results.

The powerful strike will be explosive and blow the trunk apart, splitting the trunk in two, or totally obliterated to splinters. Dec 13, The trees' resistance to the flow of electricity causes a high heat built-up as lightning travels through a tree’s frame.

Such insanely high temperature can sometimes cut trees in half. How does lightning cut trees in half, but in the case of humans, lightning strike Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins. Feb 08, Bark damage: When lightning strikes, it causes the tree to bend and bounce back suddenly. The force of this is enough to break the bark away from the trunk.

It’s often the first tell tale sign that the tree has taken damage. Leaf wilt: Lightning can interrupt a tree’s water distribution system. This will affect the leaves as they won’t get enough water, meaning that they will eventually shrubpruning.barted Reading Time: 4 mins. Jun 27, Lightning strikes the inside of a tree, targeting a layer underneath the bark that we can’t see. So it’s not uncommon for a tree to look totally normal for days or even weeks and then slowly decline.

Or, some trees die shortly after a storm. Sometimes, though, the inner damage does affect the outer parts of the tree. In this case, lightning damage looks like: A crack or slit that runs down the tree’s.

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Jan 11, Trees struck by lightning can show several symptoms and have a range of damage. In general, when lightning hits a tree, the water in the cells beneath the bark is Estimated Reading Time: 3 mins.