This is the incredible moment forks of lightning are seen rising up from the ground and into the dark clouds above Portugal in a phenomenon called ‘upward lightning’.
The stunning scenes were captured in the town of Peso da Regua in the northern Portuguese district of Vila Real when storms hit this Sunday.
In the video, lightning can be seen rising up from the land and into the clouds above in scenes straight from a sci-fi film.
Credit: CEN/@marta.lopes.73
The lightning forks rise up and across the clouds from the ground creating a stunning display.
Local media report upward lightning occurs when a large electrical charge becomes concentrated in elevated structures such as communications towers or lightning rods on tall buildings, and the charge is then sent into the sky.
A study reported in Nature magazine in July 2019 said “upward lightning is the development of a self-propagating lightning leader from a tall object that travels upward toward the overlaying electrified storm cloud”.
Netizens were wowed by the footage, with ‘Henrique Manuel Couto Lopes’ writing: “Spectacular and frightening are the two words which define this video for me.”
While ‘Beatriz Silva’ said: “Beautiful spectacle.”
Local media report the storms had been predicted across northern Portugal and no injuries have been reported.
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Story By: Alex Cope, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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