Press Coverage

Press  >  January 6, 2006 Coverage

Investigators Find More Evidence
Of Lightning Strike Near Sago Mine

A private weather prediction agency, state inspectors and seismic reports are showing stronger evidence of a possible lightning strike near the entrance to the Sago coal mine Monday morning that could have set off an explosion that trapped 13 miners underground, killing 12 of them.

Executives at Gaithersburg, Md.,-based AWS Convergence Technologies Inc, which owns the WeatherBug online weather information service, says their lightning-monitoring data show that there was a significant lightning strike of 35,000 amps near the opening of the Sago mine at 6:26:36 a.m. Monday.

"We are not saying lightning was the cause of the explosion," says Bob Marshall, chief executive officer of AWS. "We can't make that judgment. We are providing evidence that suggests this may be related." He said the average lightning strike is 22,000 amps and this strike registered at 35,000 amps.

Dr. Martin Chapman, a seismologist and professor at the Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences, says seismic data from a U.S. Geological Survey broadband seismic station near Morgantown, W.Va., 90 kilometers from the Sago mine, showed a signal at 6:26:38 a.m. that he thinks is relates to the lightning strike and subsequent explosion at the mine.

"From the seismic data and, now, apparently the information of the lightning strike being so close at the same time, it is an interesting thing that needs to be examined," says Dr. Chapman.

Terry Farley, spokesman for the state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training, said his agency is aware of lightning strikes in the area. "Our engineer was out there today verifying some lightning strikes," he says. "He was able to verify there was an apparent strike on top of the mountain someplace. There was an area where lightning had apparently hit a tree and did some substantial damage. Obviously a beaver didn't do it."

Mr. Farley said the lightning evidence was emerging this afternoon. "I can't compromise the investigation but lightning strike is one of the ignition sources we are pursuing," he said. "We are a long way from getting anything scratched in stone." Officials had been unsure about the cause of the explosion at the mine earlier in the week, suspecting it could have been a build up of methane gases while the mine was closed during the holiday weekend, a roof collapse or a lightning strike.

Previous lightning evidence from another private weather prediction service, Finland-based Vaisala Inc., which monitors thunderstorms for the National Weather Service with its National Lightning Detection Network, showed three lightning strikes within five miles of the Sago mine within a half-hour of the explosion and said two of the strikes hit within 1.5 miles of the center of the Upshur County mine, according to Vaisala.

"It is up to the investigators to take the lightning information and to correlate it in a detailed way of what we know," said Dr. Martin Murphy, a meteorologist with Vaisala in Tucson. "We don't know where all the various mine shafts and tunnels go."

WeatherBug uses rival lightning detection technology called the U.S. Precision Lightning Network licensed from Melbourne, Fla.,-based TOA Systems Inc., which WeatherBug executives say shows a singular, more definitive lightning strike. They criticize the rival firm's data, saying that two strikes in the pattern they show are very unlikely.

WeatherBug says its lightning data suggest Vaisala's is, "Somewhat erroneous," says Jim Anderson, director of business development for WeatherBug. "There was one strike close to the entrance of the mine. That correlates very closely with the seismology data." Mr. Anderson says two central processors in WeatherBug's network reported the same singular strike at the entrance of the mine.

These weather information rivals bid on contracts to supply and interpret data for the government. In the last contract battle for the National Weather Service thunderstorm and lightning monitoring, the NPLN service by Vaisala beat out the USPLN for the contract.

And while both lightning tracking services show possible lightning strikes at the area near the Sago mine, executives and meteorologists with the services say investigators must decide whether the lightning strikes, in fact, were the cause of the explosion at the mine that local residents say shook the surrounding area.

"It's a high degree of correlation but it is not the definitive causal link," says WeatherBug's Mr. Anderson.

Write to Paul Glader at paul.glader@wsj.com

About WeatherBug^®

WeatherBug ensures that individuals, schools, businesses and communities always get the most precise live weather conditions, the most relevant reports, and the earliest weather warnings to safeguard their property and their lives. WeatherBug owns the world's largest exclusive weather network, which has over 8,000 live WeatherBug Tracking Stations and more than 1,000 cameras that generate neighborhood level reports every second versus other weather providers whose data is up to an hour or more old. This network powers various products and services, including: WeatherBug, the number one weather Internet application, with over 60 million downloads, that streams live neighborhood conditions to its home and work users; WeatherBug Media Services, which delivers live weather information to over 80 million U.S. households through partnerships with more than 100 local television stations; WeatherBug Education, which provides engaging weather information and educational tools to schools and colleges, including an online learning program for K-12 schools called WeatherBug Achieve; and WeatherBug Professional Services, which uses the company's unique weather network and software to provide high-value solutions for vertical industries such as energy, transportation, and first response. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc.

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