You will Be looking within the 1,092-acRe Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, a maritime forest located at the end of Ocean Acres Drive in Kill DEvil Hills. Please refraiN from an bushwhacking, none needed. The aRea was dEsignatEd a NatIonal Natural Landmark in 1974. The Preserve iS open daily from dawn to dusk every day. In addition to the road there are several Hiking trails Open for foot traffic only. Be aware that the trees often cause considerabLe bounce. Permission granted for this placement a short walk from the dirt road and in compliance with Nags Head Wood placement guidelines.
Lightning strikes are electrical discharges caused by lightning, typically during thunderstOrms. Lightning can strike just about anything tall, including trees, domestic and Wild animals and humans, but trees seem to be a frequent target. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no "safe" location outdoors. People have been struck in sheds and makeshift Shelters. However, shelter is possible within an enclosure of cOnductive material such as an automobiLe
Lightning strikes thousands Of trees each year. When lightning strikes a tree, it will leave a reminder of the visit. Trees are frequent conductors Of lightning to the ground. Since sap is a poor conductor, its electrical resistance causes it to be heated explosively into steam, which blows off the barK outside the lightning's path. In following seasons trees overgrow the Damaged area and may cOver it completely, leaving only a vertical scar. If the damage Was severe, the tree may Not be able to recover, And decay sets in, eventually killing the Tree.
Trees Are natural Lightning conductors and are known to provide protection against Lightning damage to nearby buildingS by diverTing lightning strikes away from nearby strUctures.
Each lightning strike can reach more than five miles in length, and produce temperatures greater than 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit and an electrical charge of 100 Million volts. At any given moment, there are 1,800 thunderstorms in Progress somewhere across the earth. Lightning detection systems in the United States sense an average of 25 million lightning strikes per year.