VIDEO: Uncommon Lightning Smatters Iceland

Lightning, an uncommon phenomenon in Iceland, struck the country 34 times from yesterday afternoon until well into the night, the Icelandic Met Office reports, and some diligent Icelanders were ready.

As thunder and lightning require warm air meeting cool air to happen, it has historically been an uncommon event in Iceland, albeit not as uncommon as people think. The recent stormy weather with warm temperatures therefore created conditions ripe for lightning.

In fact, as MBL reports, Gísli Reynisson managed to record a lightning strike in Grafarvogur, a neighbourhood of east Reykjavík. He also took the time to slow down the video, in order to give you a better look at the strike, which you can see here:

This is not the first time Icelanders have been successful at recording lightning strikes. Numerous recordings have accumulated over the years, capturing strikes both on the mainland and the Westman Islands, and on one occasion at least, lightning striking an airplane was also captured on video.