Stunning footage captured a lightning strike at the World Trade Center overnight — a rare weather event known as “thundersnow” — as a blizzard brought as much as 20 inches of snow to NYC.
Multiple bolts of lightning cut through the dark, snow-filled skies over Lower Manhattan and struck 1 World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Big Apple, according to video posted by Accuweather on Monday.
The flashes were each followed by a roll of thunder, the clip shows.
Thundersnow — when lightning and thunder occur during a snowstorm — is typically only seen during the strongest winter storms, like this nor’easter.
The phenomenon requires a combination of moisture above the Earth’s surface, instability in the air and air being forced to rise — similar to the conditions in a tropical storm, according to the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service.