A rare “Crown Flash” was captured on camera by a cyclist a few days ago, and he uploaded his findings on YouTube.
“I was out riding my bicycle and a storm was approaching, then this strange light caught my eye so I pulled out my phone and shot this video,” the YouTube uploader writes. “After getting so many replies saying it wasn’t haarp (sic) I’m changing the name to, Crown Flash, a Crown Flash is when ice particles get aligned in the same direction from the electromagnetic field created during a thunderstorm. It’s usually invisible to the naked eye but the way the sun hits it, it makes it visible to the naked eye kind of like a rainbow.”
Here’s another instance captured on video:
The “Crown Flash” is also known as “Leaping Sundog.”
Here’s another one:
“An extremely rare meteorological phenomenon, crown flash, was first scientifically described in the journal Monthly Weather Review in 1885. It can occur at the top of thunderstorms and appears as a bright patch of sky not dissimilar to a sundog. Unlike a typical sundog, however, these features move and realign within seconds, forming beams and loops of light. The most likely explanation is that crown flash is caused by changing electrical fields within the thundercloud, to which plate- or needle-shaped ice crystals align, preferentially reflecting sunlight,” says the website.
It noted that due to the presence of readily available smartphones, they are now several examples of the phenomenon.
Meanwhile, last year, a large crown flash was spotted near Kansas City, Missouri.