The occupants of a plane evacuating from MacDill Air Force Base due to Hurricane Idalia recorded a jaw-dropping video of the 'lightning-like' rarity.
A stunning video shared on social media shows the rare St. Elmo's fire weather phenomenon dazzling the skies over the vicinity of Tampa, Florida, as Hurricane Idalia creeps closer.plane evacuating from the Tampa area on Monday night as Idalia, a Category 2 as of Tuesday but expected to intensify into a Category 4 overnight, stalks Florida's Gulf Coast and Panhandle.
As the hurricane closes in, ideal conditions were set for the meteorological rarity. The fascinating and colorful discharge of atmospheric electricity looks similar to lightning but is not dangerous, meteorologists say. Residents on Tuesday board up a window in Tampa, Florida, as the city prepares for Hurricane Idalia. A stunning video shared on social media shows the St. Elmo's fire phenomenon dazzling the skies as the storm threatens.St. Elmo's fire, also referred to as corona discharge, generally occurs during thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service .
"In this case, there is no charge coming from the cloud, but only from the object, so high transmission lines and lightning rods can produce this 'Corona' as well and it can be simulated in an experiment, such as something that might be displayed in a museum."
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