The science behind why you can smell storms ahead of arrival
Have you ever been outdoors ahead of an incoming storm? Have you ever smelled a distinct fragrance from that moment? If you have, it's not the actual storm making that smell. The lightning creating ozone is actually to blame.
![](https://abc17news.b-cdn.net/abc17news.com/2023/09/slot0-3-2.jpg)
There is plenty of oxygen (O2) available in the atmosphere. Whenever lightning heats up the environment it can disassemble the O2. Whenever the oxygen atoms re-assemble they can form O3 known as Ozone.
![](https://abc17news.b-cdn.net/abc17news.com/2023/09/slot1-3-1.jpg)
This ozone creates the distinct smell many have become familiar with.
![](https://abc17news.b-cdn.net/abc17news.com/2023/09/slot2-3.jpg)
Downdrafts from the storm will then blow the ozone to the surface of the earth and it will race ahead of the housing storm signaling its approach.
![](https://abc17news.b-cdn.net/abc17news.com/2023/09/slot3-2.jpg)
During long periods of drier conditions such as the drought we are seeing here in Mid-Missouri, plants will coat themselves with a specific liquid. When this liquid becomes saturated it releases a separate fragrance.