INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Football fans turned on their TVs and tuned to ESPN to watch the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders play on Monday Night Football, but the game was delayed by 35 minutes with lightning in the area.
tonight’s game is currently delayed due to lightning. kickoff time is TBD.
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 5, 2021
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The delay caused an uproar on social media as many people incorrectly assumed the Chargers’ SoFi Stadium was a dome and safe from lightning. The stadium is classified as open-air due to the north side being open on the upper deck.
The confusion led to ESPN broadcaster and former quarterback Steve Young asserting that “lightning can’t go sideways.” This isn’t true!
“Lightning can’t go sideways”
— Tyler Roney (@TylerJRoney) October 5, 2021
We need a meteorologist on Monday Night Football 🤦🏻♂️
The most notable example of lightning going sideways is a phenomenon called the “bolt from the blue.”
It’s possible for lightning to strike as far as ten to twelve miles away from the actual storm. We have an easy way for you to calculate how far away a storm is.
Count how many seconds until you hear the thunder, then divide by five to calculate how many miles away it is. For example, if you see lightning then hear thunder ten seconds later, that means the storm is two miles away!
We know most of you are not going to ESPN for their meteorological knowledge, so stick with 10 News and Your Local Weather Authority for the forecast every day!