Chile’s ‘Dirty Thunderstorm’ Is The Mesmerizing Result Of Volcanic Chaos

According to BBC Earth, dirty thunderstorms, also known as volcanic lightning, are rare phenomena that occur during large eruptions when lightning is sparked within clouds of volcanic ash

Although very little is known about volcanic lightning, scientists believe the electric charges are generated when ash, rock fragments and ice particles collide within the volcanic plume

“In a normal thunderstorm, ice crystals collide and generate electric charges,” volcano filmmaker Marc Szeglat,  who was not involved in filming the below clip, told BBC Earth earlier this year. “In an eruption cloud, ash particles collide instead of ice crystals

When Muñoz-Donoso filmed Calbuco’s volcanic lightning in Aprilerupted in 42 yearsforcing thousands to evacuateno deaths or injuries were reported

Watch Chile’s hypnotizing and powerful “dirty thunderstorm” in BBC’s full video below