During strong thunderstorms in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2017, amazing lightning flashed from the ground to the skies. Multiple witnesses in Oklahoma City have seen and videotaped mysterious lightning bursting from the earth and striking the sky.
The odd glow has bewildered many onlookers; most have never seen ground-to-sky lightning before. And, although it does happen in nature on occasion, the event is regarded to be incredibly unusual.
Lightning strikes that are upside-down are another unusual component of the narrative. These hits, which often occur at the tops of tall buildings, have the power to pierce the clouds and reach altitudes of up to 90 kilometers.
“While ground-to-cloud lightning strikes have been seen since the 1930s, it is only lately that they have become a serious concern, with the increased deployment of wind turbines.” — Aleksandr Smorgonskiy, a doctoral student at Lausanne’s École Polytechnique Fédérale.
Negative ions from the cloud pour downhill and clash with positive ions streaming above in a typical strike. In an upside-down strike, positive ions travel upwards quicker, forming an electrical “circuit” with the clouds and upper atmosphere.
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