Ball lightning report from...November 1911

[Weather-history]

Here is from my copy of British Rainfall 1911, a report of ball lightning that was witnessed from Fort Augustus in Invernesshire

"2nd-4th.- Fort Augustus. A remarkable thunderstorm ushered in during the morning of the 2nd by fine specimens of mammato-cumuli. Thunder and lightning began about 7pm, after a wet day. About 7pm again on the 3rd, thunder and lightning reappeared and lasted till about 8.15am on the 4th, this being the longest and most intense thunderstorm witnessed here, at least during the last 20 years. It was accompanied by violent squalls from southwest, rain and hail. At 5.15am, the lightning struck one of the fuse-boards of the Abbey, followed by a terrific crash. There was a display of ball lightning at the same time. The lightning struck about 8 houses, some over a mile apart. A ball burst over the Abbey cricket field, breaking up into small ones. The same phenomenon, balls rolling down a hill, was witnessed near the Free Church.

A ball of football size, and red like hot iron, appeared at a window of one of the houses and floated towards the fuse-board. There it stopped and numerous arms shot out of the ball, playing about the fuse-board; then a smash came, and the person who witnessed it got a blow to the head and side, but was not hurt. In one instance, a fiery line was seen flowing down from an electric lamp (hanging from the ceiling) and getting deflected towards the wall of the room; there a bed was kicked along a distance of a one foot."

[mushymanrob]

interesting..

i was watching a thunderstorm in 1974, june, it was a sunday .. i was looking south from my parents bedroom window. the storm tracked slowly from my right to my left. whilst we were still under the squall line and before the rain started proper i observed a 'ball of light' about 2 miles away heading out of the cloud and traveling foreward from it. i guess that was 'ball lightning'..?