TV news has video of the intense lightning storms that moved through Tokyo, our neighbor to the north, today. Notable is the video disruption milliseconds before the lightning (if you watch the short video I’ve linked to below, you’ll see the phenomenon). I suppose this is due to an electromagnetic pulse emitted by ionic disequilibrium breakdown which precedes and actually results in lightning and is more often the cause of blackouts than direct lightning strikes themselves by overloading transformers (and Tokyo had plenty of blackouts today. Disclaimer: My son lives there now, but he has a girlfriend, so I’m sure he is more than fine). You might notice your lights flicker milliseconds before you hear the thunder due to the same phenomenon.
I mention this as it reminds me a bit of the P-waves my dog would notice seconds before the S-waves discernible by humans arrived back when quakes were an everyday occurrence. What happens around humans that escapes our notice is interesting. - William
