PIAN-MEDOC (LE) (33) 18.06.2019

On 18 June 2019 around 23:00, a witness closing the shutters noticed an intense light moving unusually across the landscape. It was a scintillating red point or circle moving back and forth in all directions, as if jumping between places across a large area of sky. On stepping into the glazed doorway for a better view, the witness found the circle had disappeared, leaving a very bright yellow line that then vanished. The witness fetched a mobile phone in case it returned. At 23:10 another point or circle appeared, moving in the same strange manner. The witness filmed it. Below it was another luminous point or circle with identical movement. They then disappeared in a manner the witness could not determine. After another 20–30 minutes, a similar phenomenon returned: at 23:40, 2 points, alternately yellow and red, moved erratically, appeared to grow, approached each other and vanished instantly. This sole witness made 2 videos. The final image of 20190618_232823.mp4 depicts a colored party-light ball. GEIPAN considers the description consistent with ball lightning in the “globular lightning” category, in appearance, behavior, apparent trajectory and altitude. The account was submitted to the Lightning Research Laboratory, which unambiguously identified that type of ball lightning. At the time the area was affected by a powerful, highly active multicell thunderstorm. Between 21:00 and 01:00, 123 strikes occurred within 10,000 m of the viewing position (see attached Station Labo map). Lightning intermittently illuminates the extensive cloud structure in the video, revealing well-defined cumuliform towers. The source interprets these as a vigorous storm active throughout the troposphere. Further information on ball lightning is provided in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k-y88zh5fs&list=PL8WQV0xeqD2bapVOfx2ooBoVOETayZTNr GEIPAN classifies the case A: ball lightning, in the globular-lightning category.