Weatherscience News

Photographer captures stunning red lightning bolts reaching the edge of space

A photographer in Puerto Rico captured rare "gigantic jets" of lightning, which contain 50 times more energy than typical lightning bolts. These bolts, known as upward lightning, occur only about 1,000 times a year worldwide and are believed to happen most often during thunderstorms over the open ocean. The photographer documented three of these rare lightning events while tracking the early formation of Hurricane Franklin. Gigantic jets gain their crimson hue from contact with Earth's ionosphere, and they are related to the electrical phenomenon of red sprites.