Lightning striking palms, or what?

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

The common areas of our development are heavily landscaped with coconut palms, most of which are more than 20 years old. Recently we had one palm suffer a crown collapse and quickly die, and they said it must have been lightning. The tree certainly had all the classic symptoms, including the dark orange spots on the trunk.

Then about two weeks ago there was a terrific crash during a thunderstorm and another tree began dying. This one is about forty feet away from the first one. Okay, so I have no problem believing that one got struck, too.

But I just came back from shopping and now another tree about twenty feet from the first two trees is also dying, with exactly the same symptoms.

What are the odds that after 30+ years without a lightning strike, we'd have three in essentially the same place in two months time? There are other trees between the ones that died and they seem to be fine. The first tree was one of a row of trees about the same height, the second one was one of the tallest on the property and the third was next to a tree about the same height (between it and dead tree 2) that seems perfectly fine.

I have to say that I've looked a lot for a disease which creates these symptoms and haven't found one, while they are classic for lightning. Can anyone think of another possibility? There hasn't been any dramatic thunderstorm noise since tree 2 died, so if tree 3 was hit, it was pretty discreetly done.

ETA We've had lots of thunder and lightning, but almost no rain this summer.

Featured Answer

sharon2079

8 years ago

Several years ago during a lightning storm we had a strike on a royal palm tree. It also go the neighbors Royal palm and a queen palm. I believe it to have been only 1 strike that it my tree directly, but the lightning jumped to the other two trees. Mine died immediately. The neighbors royal look kind of shaggy, like it was trying to shake it off, but in about 2 weeks it was apparent that it was dying/dead. The queen palm languished for months and then gave up the ghost. My take on it was how bad did the lighting hit.... directly, or did it jump to the other plant. Also, how healthy were the trees before the hit? I would think that several things could go into how fast it would die.... kind of like people.... some people who get hit by lighting die immediately. Some right away, and others live to a ripe old age.... just my thought. Hope it helps. And good luck with your trees

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Comments (7)

writersblock (9b/10a)
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks, Sharon. I think for trees two and three that tree 2 was hit directly. I guess the lightning could have jumped to tree 3, but it wasn't the closest one. Tree 2 was very healthy. Tree 3, healthier than I would have expected for a tree that has been so maltreated over the years, but not as healthy as tree 2.

Of course the intervening trees are quite healthy, so I suppose maybe they just haven't shown symptoms yet.
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sonni1
8 years ago
I'm surprised we haven't seen more lightening damage here this year. I can't recall another season that there has been not only so much rain, but thunder and lightening too. Practically every day this summer.
writersblock (9b/10a) thanked sonni1
dirtygardener
8 years ago
Lightning can travel underground once it hits a tree and can affect trees all around it. Lightning struck my live oak one year, and the laurel oak about 20 feet away got the same symptoms of split bark, etc., and it had never been hit by lightning. I've seen large swaths of pine timber tracts die from lightning striking just one tree. Hearing a pine tree explode is terrifying!
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tropicbreezent
8 years ago
Lightning can often split and have a number of points of impact, it's not always only at one point. A number of years back I lost 5 tall Coconuts to a lightning strike. A number of smaller plants near them were also cooked, including a large Philo on one of them that became mush. Some large Casuarinas nearby only started to look like something was wrong a month or two later but some other Coconuts just as far away are still going strong today. And Acalyphas right near the struck Coconuts have never shown any signs of problems. It's quite variable with how plants are affected. Not quite so with people. It doesn't have to be a direct hit to kill or maim a person. Induction around a lightning strike can "rearrange" a persons internal circuitry, with anything from mild to severe consequences. Another variable in the equation is the intensity of the lightning, that can differ quite a lot between strikes.
writersblock (9b/10a) thanked tropicbreezent
writersblock (9b/10a)
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks, dg and tropicbreezent. This was a bad one--it set off car alarms a quarter mile away and a lot of dogs and cats flew under beds and stayed there the rest of the night, according to their owners.
dirtygardener
8 years ago
Interesting fact: When a mature oak tree is hit by lightning, it can take up to 20 years to die. Oak trees are amazing.
writersblock (9b/10a) thanked dirtygardener