Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Tropical activity brewing near US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Get details Chevron right
Storms to spark on July 4th in parts of the Plains and Southeast. Click here Chevron right

Columbus, OH

72°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

72°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps
News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel
For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center
AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

Weather Blogs / WeatherMatrix

Incredible light pillar photos from Wisconsin

By Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor

Published Dec 11, 2018 8:04 PM EDT | Updated Jan 24, 2019 9:29 PM EDT

Copied
Tue, Dec 11, 2018, 2:53 PM

Tom Purdy uploaded this incredible photo to Facebook Sunday, taken in Beloit, Wisconsin. These are "light pillars" created as street lights intercept ice crystals of different dimensions in the atmosphere. I first blogged about them in 2008.

Wisconsin Ice Pillars
Facebook/Tom Purdy

These particular pillars are flared at the top, something I hadn't seen before. Tom's photo went viral on Reddit, but it wasn't the only one taken that night... the viewer photo sent into WKOW, shown below, adds something new: snowflakes! What a night!

The video below will give you a primer on how light pillars form; Capital Weather Gang has a detailed explanation of why these looked the way they did.

Report a Typo

Weather News
video

Huge dust storm shrouds Las Vegas

Jul. 2, 2025
video

Fallen trees during storm kill Delaware driver

Jul. 2, 2025
video

Towering waterspout hovers near Ohio’s lakeshore

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars
ABOUT THIS BLOG
WeatherMatrix
Jesse Ferrell
AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager Jesse Ferrell covers extreme weather and the intersection of meteorology and social media.
  • Astronomy
    with Dave Samuhel
  • Canadian weather
    with Brett Anderson
  • Global climate change
    with Brett Anderson
  • Global weather
    with Jason Nicholls
  • Northeast US weather
    with Elliot Abrams
  • Plume Labs on Air Quality
    with Tyler Knowlton
  • RealImpact of weather
    with Dr. Joel N. Myers
  • WeatherMatrix
    with Jesse Ferrell
  • Western US weather
    with Brian Thompson

Featured Stories

Weather News

‘Shark Whisperer’ swims its way into our shark obsession

7 hours ago

Travel

Fourth of July gas hasn’t been this cheap since 2021

1 day ago

Weather News

What makes fireworks burst with vibrant colors?

6 days ago

Health

'Inverse' vaccines may hold key to challenge autoimmune diseases

2 days ago

Weather News

World’s most liveable city for 2025 revealed

1 week ago
AccuWeather Weather Blogs Incredible light pillar photos from Wisconsin
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...