Watching the Sky Light Up in Last Night’s Lightning Storm was both Beautiful and Frightening

It was around midday yesterday (May 15) when reports of isolated showers and lightning storms were coming out of Shasta and Tehama counties. And by the time night fell, parts of Northern California watched as a lightning storm lit up the sky in what was both a beautiful and frightening experience.

The storms were so isolated that many people had no idea that they were happening. But if you were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the show you probably ran inside immediately. They were intense.

Around 11:30 am the reports of the storm starting coming in:

Then around 5:30 pm, the storm picked up, with more saturation surrounding the mountains to the east and west of Redding:

Then around 10:30 pm, the lightning storm picked up. That’s when the show began to take place:

Nice lightning show in #Redding. 4 out 5 stars. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/Ql52Gor2iz

— Rob Elvington (@RobElvington) May 16, 2018

Bechelli/Hartnell. pic.twitter.com/eAmzQRXcUc

— KRCR PHOTOG (@krcrphoto) May 16, 2018

Four Corners (Churn Creek/Hartnell) #enterprisedistric pic.twitter.com/LFUk1Fc0Nq

— KRCR PHOTOG (@krcrphoto) May 16, 2018

When you take a look at the lightning map from the past 24 hours, there was a ton of activity in NorCal:

The rain and thunderstorms are forecasted to continue into today. If you encounter lightning, take cover inside. Try to avoid incidents like the recent Tahoe lightning storm that left destruction in its wake or the hiker who was hit by lightning in NorCal last year.

Be careful out there, and enjoy the show!