Fancourt Golf General Manager Lloyd Martindale examines the strange burn
patterns left on the estate's Outeniqua Course after a bolt of
lightning struck and hit a pole on Monday. The flagpole, which was burnt
to smithereens, has since been replaced.
GEORGE NEWS - The unusual weather and bizarre way in which a bolt of lightning struck a flagpole at Fancourt Golf Course on Monday night (19 May 2014) left Golf General Manager Lloyd Martindale shocked upon making the discovery.
"It missed the buildings, high trees and struck the flagpole on the Outeniqua Golf Course's first green. To my knowledge this is the first time this has happened - certainly since I have been here. The pole was charred and the flag shredded to smithereens. This goes to show that if you happen to be golfing when a storm comes up, you had better make your way back to the clubhouse as soon as possible," said Martindale.
When the lightning struck the carbon fibre pole, it deflected onto the green leaving an odd pattern.
A fortnight ago a Heather Park resident was amazed when lightning struck her roof, leaving a gaping hole.
The unusual weather patterns experienced with wind and heavy rain as well as hail - all occurring in one week - has left Georgians stupefied. A weather observer said he definitely noticed a change in the weather pattern as lightning was becoming more frequent.
The George Airport Weather Office measured 10,2mm rain on Monday and a total of 50mm for the month of May (up to Tuesday). The George Garden Route Dam has been overflowing for the past three weeks.
- George Herald
NOTE: I have on numerous occasions warned the people against changing weather patterns and the increase in lightning activity in the Southern Cape. In 2010 I requested the Premier of the Western Cape and the SA Weather Service to install a weather radar in the Southern Cape. This was done but unfortunately the public now has to pay an absorbent subscription fee to access radar images. Radar images are thus only for the rich and famous in this country while the poorest of the poor have to fend for themselves. Sad indeed but this is the current situation in this country. The Southern Cape experience several direct lightning strikes the past few years which caused extensive damage to infrastructure and the death of people, the latest a man that was killed in the Calitzdorp area while driving a tractor during a storm. With the increase in thunderstorms and lightning in the Southern Cape it is imperative that the people living in this area take note of the weather. I once again ask members of the public to send in country wide weather observations reports to SAWXREP and MSBWX. We need to keep people informed especially those who cannot afford the luxury of weather radar images. Hopefully we can save lives by posting observation reports on Twitter and Facebook.
Here are the links were you can post real time weather observations:
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/MSBWX
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/SAWXREP
