Catatumbo lightning is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs in the basin of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, mainly in the southern part of the lake and in the lower basin of the Catatumbo river, from which its name derives. Scientists from the Scientific Modeling Center indicate that it would be more appropriate to talk about the Catatumbo lightning bolts, because they tend to occur in multiple places every night, but from a distance they are seen as a single phenomenon.
This phenomenon is characterized by the appearance of a series of lightning almost continuously and virtually silent because of the large distances needed to observe the phenomenon, which occurs in clouds of great vertical development forming electric shocks between 1 and almost 4 kilometers of height, as the winds associated with the Low Level Nocturnal Jet of the Lake Maracaibo Basin penetrate the surface of the lake in the afternoon hours (when the evaporation is greater) and are forced to ascend through the mountainous system of Perijá (of 3,750 msnm) and the Mountain range of Merida, the Venezuelan branch of the Andes (of up to 5,000 msnm, approximately).
The origin of this phenomenon is in the orographic effect of these mountain ranges that enclose and brake the northeasterly winds; thus, clouds of great vertical development are produced, concentrated mainly in the Catatumbo river basin. This phenomenon is very easy to see from hundreds of kilometers away, as from Cúcuta, in Colombia, or from the lake itself (where there are usually no clouds at night). For this reason, it is also known as the Maracaibo Lighthouse, since the boats that sailed the area could sail during the night without problems at the time of sailing. It can occur up to 260 times a year and lasts up to 10 hours per night; In addition, this phenomenon can reach 60 downloads per minute.