A brief history of ball lightning observations by scientists and trained professionals

Keul, Alexander G.

doi:10.5194/hgss-12-43-2021

Articles | Volume 12, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-12-43-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-12-43-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 12, issue 1

01 Mar 2021

| 01 Mar 2021

A brief history of ball lightning observations by scientists and trained professionals

Alexander G. Keul

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Total article views: 8,343 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)

HTML	PDF	XML	Total	BibTeX	EndNote
6,365	1,881	97	8,343	90	118

HTML: 6,365
PDF: 1,881
XML: 97
Total: 8,343
BibTeX: 90
EndNote: 118

Views and downloads (calculated since 01 Mar 2021)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Mar 2021	134	40	6	180
Apr 2021	108	33	3	144
May 2021	82	38	0	120
Jun 2021	62	28	2	92
Jul 2021	44	14	0	58
Aug 2021	1,554	68	3	1,625
Sep 2021	114	28	1	143
Oct 2021	67	45	4	116
Nov 2021	104	30	2	136
Dec 2021	45	16	0	61
Jan 2022	51	108	1	160
Feb 2022	42	44	3	89
Mar 2022	38	32	3	73
Apr 2022	51	43	0	94
May 2022	24	26	1	51
Jun 2022	29	16	1	46
Jul 2022	31	20	1	52
Aug 2022	88	24	0	112
Sep 2022	77	15	0	92
Oct 2022	27	31	0	58
Nov 2022	41	25	0	66
Dec 2022	28	12	1	41
Jan 2023	28	19	0	47
Feb 2023	26	23	0	49
Mar 2023	38	13	2	53
Apr 2023	29	16	1	46
May 2023	16	13	2	31
Jun 2023	27	15	1	43
Jul 2023	25	31	1	57
Aug 2023	38	21	3	62
Sep 2023	18	25	1	44
Oct 2023	34	26	7	67
Nov 2023	31	13	0	44
Dec 2023	42	17	1	60
Jan 2024	20	38	0	58
Feb 2024	35	12	1	48
Mar 2024	88	22	0	110
Apr 2024	35	26	2	63
May 2024	48	24	1	73
Jun 2024	70	25	4	99
Jul 2024	72	19	4	95
Aug 2024	76	18	2	96
Sep 2024	49	8	3	60
Oct 2024	60	25	1	86
Nov 2024	50	19	0	69
Dec 2024	81	46	2	129
Jan 2025	89	24	7	120
Feb 2025	41	14	3	58
Mar 2025	53	152	1	206
Apr 2025	115	44	1	160
May 2025	187	56	2	245
Jun 2025	328	72	1	401
Jul 2025	412	58	2	472
Aug 2025	390	81	1	472
Sep 2025	313	24	4	341
Oct 2025	473	77	3	553
Nov 2025	87	29	1	117

Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 01 Mar 2021)

Month	HTML	PDF	XML	Total
Mar 2021	134	40	6	180
Apr 2021	108	33	3	144
May 2021	82	38	0	120
Jun 2021	62	28	2	92
Jul 2021	44	14	0	58
Aug 2021	1,554	68	3	1,625
Sep 2021	114	28	1	143
Oct 2021	67	45	4	116
Nov 2021	104	30	2	136
Dec 2021	45	16	0	61
Jan 2022	51	108	1	160
Feb 2022	42	44	3	89
Mar 2022	38	32	3	73
Apr 2022	51	43	0	94
May 2022	24	26	1	51
Jun 2022	29	16	1	46
Jul 2022	31	20	1	52
Aug 2022	88	24	0	112
Sep 2022	77	15	0	92
Oct 2022	27	31	0	58
Nov 2022	41	25	0	66
Dec 2022	28	12	1	41
Jan 2023	28	19	0	47
Feb 2023	26	23	0	49
Mar 2023	38	13	2	53
Apr 2023	29	16	1	46
May 2023	16	13	2	31
Jun 2023	27	15	1	43
Jul 2023	25	31	1	57
Aug 2023	38	21	3	62
Sep 2023	18	25	1	44
Oct 2023	34	26	7	67
Nov 2023	31	13	0	44
Dec 2023	42	17	1	60
Jan 2024	20	38	0	58
Feb 2024	35	12	1	48
Mar 2024	88	22	0	110
Apr 2024	35	26	2	63
May 2024	48	24	1	73
Jun 2024	70	25	4	99
Jul 2024	72	19	4	95
Aug 2024	76	18	2	96
Sep 2024	49	8	3	60
Oct 2024	60	25	1	86
Nov 2024	50	19	0	69
Dec 2024	81	46	2	129
Jan 2025	89	24	7	120
Feb 2025	41	14	3	58
Mar 2025	53	152	1	206
Apr 2025	115	44	1	160
May 2025	187	56	2	245
Jun 2025	328	72	1	401
Jul 2025	412	58	2	472
Aug 2025	390	81	1	472
Sep 2025	313	24	4	341
Oct 2025	473	77	3	553
Nov 2025	87	29	1	117

Latest update: 08 Nov 2025

Short summary

With countless reports, few physical records, and no theory consensus, ball lightning remains an unsolved problem in atmospheric physics; 41 qualified observation abstracts (1868–2020) from eight countries are presented by a case investigator. Some were related to mountain, power line, aeroplane; two had medical effects. Six influential cases are added. High-quality report data stimulate further fieldwork and theories of the phenomenon. Scientific readers are invited to share unreported events.