Jesse Ferrell

Recent Close Lightning Videos Strike Social Media

By Jesse Ferrell, Meteorologist/Community Director

8/28/2014, 9:17:11 AM

UPDATE 8/27/14: The Arch at St. Louis, Missouri was struck twice by lightning today; here's the video:

A trend I've noticed this Summer on Social Media is a large increase in "lightning strike selfies" -- videos going viral where people are nearly getting struck by lightning. It's a sober reminder of the danger of thunderstorms. For example, this video from Europe just surfaced. The photographer was videotaping a rainbow when lightning struck close:

Trust me, from (accidentally) being within 30 feet of at least three lightning strikes, this is real. I remember how, as the strike fades, it looks like little globules of light (as shown in the slow motion version).

This one you may have seen... a vacationing couple nearly struck by lightning last month in Mexico while taking a selfie video:

Back in May, storm chaser Scott Sheppard was also nearly struck by lightning while filming a rainbow.

Next up, a woman in Idaho is nearly struck by lightning while trying to take a SnapChat video of the storm last week:

Flash back to last month in Estonia, a couple on vacation is nearly missed by a close lightning strike (possibly to their car):

Also this week, the Zephyrometer in Wellington, New Zealand was decimated by a lightning strike:

And finally, this video from my friend (and fellow Pennsylvania Storm Chaser) Frank, who was in Virginia last week:

Post by Frank Conway.

A high school football team was also injured by lightning last week when lightning struck their field, but no video of the strike was recorded.

These are the lucky ones that survive to tell the story, and I doubt they are direct strikes because if any of these cameras had taken a direct hit, they would have been destroyed, and the photographers would have been killed. As you can see from the videos though, being within 100 feet of a lightning strike can certainly scare the heck out of you and even knock you from your feet. Play it safe; as the National Weather Service says: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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