Weird Light on NJ's GSP Parkway? (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

I know this is a long shot, but I was wondering if anyone else saw this while driving the Gar den State Parkway on Friday. Around 10:00 or so, facing the Big Bridges g oing South Bound, we noticed a bright flash of light on the left side of the bridges. It looked like Lightning, but not only was it too cold for it, but there where no weather anomolies forcasted for that night.

I'm curious if anyone else saw it or know what it was, because as we drove over, we didn't see smoke or anything like that that would indicate a problem.

 

[Sam Posten]

I used to believe that it couldnt lightning during cold weather but its not true, it happens all the time. Check www.straightdope.com on that.

Sam

 

[Jack Briggs]

I was once visiting relatives in Nashville, TN, when there was a thunderstorm accompanying a freak blizzard-like snowstorm. Huge flakes were falling out of the sky while lightning danced about in the background. Some of the oddest weather phenomena I ever saw.

 

[Jay H]

You can definitely have thunder and lightning in a snow storm, but it is generally rare and because of that, not much is known about them, at least compared to normal summer thunderstorms...

However, we didn't have a snow storm this friday anyway, just alot of flooding from Thursday's storm, so it wouldn't of been one of those snow lightning.

What are the "big bridges" What exit? Are you talking about the Raritan River bridge which is around exit 120 or Cheesequake?

Jay

 

[DeathStar1]

Heh, for the life of me, I can't think of the name of the bridges, so I used the childhood nickname we used to give it as we crossed over. Just like Rt35 I beleive it is from Seaside Upwards through Lavellette turns into the 'bumpy road' .

But these bridges are around exit 125, IIRC, by the big movie theater off the side of the highway.

 

[Jay H]

Yeah... OK Neil, I know the bridge you're talking about. I think you're talking about the bridge by Little Egg Harbor, just north of Toms River... The Raritan bridge, like you said is by the Loews gigaplex and also right where I-287 meets the GSP.

Flash of light.... Perhaps a plane coming in for landing at the A.C. airport? A lighthouse?

Jay

 

[Stephanie T.]

This probably isn't it, since you described the light as a "brief flash" and "like lightning," but there are several big oil refineries along the Jersey coast in the Port Reading/Perth Amboy/Sayreville areas, and they will sometimes have to burn off a big flare of gas (for one reason or another). That flame will appear at the top of a big ventstack. Depending on cloud cover and your own line of sight, perhaps it's possible that that was what you saw.

Either that, or it was Orson Welles' invaders from Mars revisiting Grover's Mill...

 

[Lee L]

Could it have been a welding arc?

 

[Jason_Els]

It was likely lightning. WCBS was reporting lightning and thunder during the snow storm yesterday. We are, however, having the Orionid meteor shower and this year it's been terrific. Lots of shooting stars including a greater than average number of bolides (meteors which are extra bright, frequently explode, and leave trails). Bolides can come down quite far in the atmosphere. Given the weather conditions though, it's most likely lightning.

 

[John Gido]

I grew up in the area of the "2 bridges" and the Route 9 bridge was referred to as the "Edison Bridge" and the GSP bridge is the "Driscoll Bridge" although cannot recall who it was named for. That area is probably one of the most congested areas in all of NJ with Routes 9, 35, 287 and the GSP all converging into 3 crossings (Route 35 uses the Victory Bridge connecting Perth Amboy to South Amboy).