Sighting in Morlincourt, August 1960

The account was collected in 2015, long after the events, and the exact date is unknown. The witness described three separate observations; only the third is covered here. Shortly before noon in August 1960, the witness, then ten years old, was watching the lightning of a violent thunderstorm. A very bright, pale yellow ball appeared right above them. It moved slowly in a straight line, then stopped above the roof of a nearby house. It then went back to where it had started and disappeared behind the trees.

The report was submitted to the Laboratoire de la Foudre (the lightning laboratory), which recognised a typical case of ball lightning, as the witness had already suspected. According to the investigation, the ending is not so odd: ball lightning often follows the rising updrafts of a cumulonimbus. The atmosphere described, with it almost dark and a very low sky, fits a storm accompanied by an arcus. It is common to see "chimneys" climbing toward the anvil, and the sky, even a few rays of sunshine, may show through during the storm.

The case was classed B: probable observation of ball lightning. Without a precise date, this hypothesis cannot be formally verified.