15 Historical Photos You Won't Believe Are Real

3. Armageddon? - A "Dirty Thunderstorm" Produces Lightning And A Volcanic Eruption Simultaneously

Dirty Thunderstorm
Wikipedia/OliverSpalt

This striking, powerful and active photo depicts the "dirty thunderstorm" that occurred above Mount Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia, in 1994.

A "dirty thunderstorm" is a rare weather phenomenon when lightning strikes through the ash plume produced by a volcanic eruption.

Few instances of this phenomenon have been recorded, although it has occurred in Chile above the Chaiten Volcano, above Alaska's Mount Augustine volcano and also above Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

 
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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.