Tornadoes have a smell??
yes? like a... idk. Like when you put a candle out, but a little sharper, and heavy/brassy, and wet, obviously. listen i barely have a sense of smell, but even I can smell it. surely I'm not the only one, it must be strong if /I/ can smell it. I just don't have enough scents in my experience cache to describe it.
lightning ALSO has a strong smell just before it strikes, which I assume is a part of tornado smell. metallic and twangy. it clicks LOUDLY for a couple seconds, enough to get the FUCK out if you hear it with enough awareness to realize what it is.
K this does imply you have almost or actually been hit by lightning
Yeah around 10-12 years ago, shortly after I moved into my house, I was sitting in front of my bay window and started to hear loud, fast clicking. VERY weird sound. Activates the hind brain because let me tell you I was out of my chair ready to bolt, no pun intended, in less than a second and I do not move fast for love or money. Hair on my arms was all stood up like a balloon was rubbed on them, not like goosebumps. And it smelled like ozone, metallic and tangy. Watched lightning strike the ground maybe 10-15 feet from my window a few seconds later, and it SHOOK my house, I'm surprised the window didn't break tbh, it felt like it stopped my heart when it hit. Hands down the scariest thing I've ever personally seen, and I'm really REALLY glad I was indoors at the time.
The clicking sound is static discharge--when conditions are building to create lightning, there are usually a lot of potential static electricity paths in an area that could complete the circuit, and not just the path the lightning does take. However, when that main lightning strike discharge does occur, all of the other static paths (they're called streamers) also discharge (last entry here) at varying power intensities.
When I experienced it, I had just enough time to think it sounded like someone had thrown a hand-full of sand or small rocks at the window, then: boom.
yeah that's EXACTLY the clicking, like little pebbles hitting glass!


















