What does «catatumbo» mean in Spanish?
- Meteorological phenomenon characterized by the appearance of multiple lightning flashes continuously, visible in the basin of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, mainly in the southern area of the lake and in the lower basin of the Catatumbo River. The phenomenon occurs in clouds of great vertical development where lightning occurs at a height of between 1 and 4 kilometers high. As the winds associated with the Low Level Night Jet of the Lake Maracaibo Basin penetrate the surface of the lake in the afternoon hours (when evaporation is higher) and are forced to ascend the Perijá mountain system (3,750 masl) and the Mérida Range, the Venezuelan branch of the Andes (up to approximately 5,000 masl).