RDAUTBMag2026

13 lightning sprites, com- mon in the Midwest, make skies glow with jellyfish-like shapes during thunder- storms. The crimson lights are produced by electric discharges in a middle region of the atmo- sphere known as the mesosphere. Tall build- ings are especially prone to lightning strikes, so skyscrapers are equipped with lightning rods to safely dissipate the energy if they get hit. Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly called the Sears Tower) was struck 250 times from 2015 to 2020. 14 Mongolia’s southern province of Dor- nogovi experienced a record 20-hour sand- storm in 2021. These storms occur when strong winds sweep across dry desert. They can sometimes cause “blood rain,” a reddish precipitation from dust carried from the Sahara Desert mixing with water before falling back to earth. This rare event occurred in the sky over Spain in 2022. 15 Intense heat waves can melt power lines and buckle railway tracks, which happened last year in the United King- dom. People also tend to lose their cool during hot weather: Studies show that violence spikes as our bodies heat up, possibly due to a drop in serotonin and an increase in testoster- one, which can make us more aggressive. 16 every year 1,200 or so tornadoes are reported in the United States. That’s 75% of all the tornadoes in the world. Tornado Alley, which runs vertically through the middle of the country from South Dakota to Texas, bears the brunt. The Lone Star State is hit most frequently, averaging 137 tornadoes a year, but a neighboring state, Oklahoma, holds the record for the biggest twister ever. In 2013, a 2.6-mile-wide one bar- reled through El Reno, Oklahoma, at never- before-seen ground speeds of 295 mph. 17 While most people wisely seek safety during extreme weather, storm chasers run toward the action. Despite the danger, deaths are rare, and these extreme-weather bugs gather invaluable meteorological data. You can stream the spectacular videos they capture on platforms such as WeatherSpy. Girls Who Chase, founded by extreme- weather lovers Jen Walton and Melanie Metz in 2021, inspires and educates women to head out into the eye of the storm and to pursue careers in sci- ence. reader ’ s digest 48 may 2026 LEAVE A LEGACY OF EXPERT MEDICAL CARE Leave agift in yourWill to Médecins Sans Frontières Australia. By leaving just oneper cent of your estate, you’llmake abigdifference. Your giftwill helphumanitarian medical care always be there. Today. Tomorrow. Always thanks toyou. Phone. 02 8570 2611 | ABN: 74 068 758 654 | Copyright : Oliver Barth/MSF MAKE YOURWISHES KNOWN.WRITE YOUR WILL FOR FREEWITH OUR ONLINE PARTNER EVERYWILL. IT ONLY TAKES 10 MINUTES.