In Tornado Alley, lightning usually takes the back seat in the media exposure vehicle. The last 2 storm seasons delivered well below average tornado touch downs, but the lightning was off the charts. One of these lightning shows was one of the most incredible sights I’ve ever witnessed…
The Coleridge-Laurel Nebraska supercell (6-17-14) produced a family of at least 8 tornadoes but equally as impressive was the electricity this engine generated. It’s not uncommon to see a supercell or two in a tornado season with constant flickering, however in most of these cases, many of the discharges are obscured in cloud cover and rain. With this cell, the lightning was highly visible resembling something out of a sci-fy film. Constant discharges of cloud-to-cloud lightning filled the heavens and illuminated the spiraling updraft. It was an electric pillar of fire and something I’ll never forget. What you’re looking at here are a series of 2-8 second photographs animated together into a time lapse motion picture.