{"id":72842,"date":"2023-09-01T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/09\/01\/air-force-captures-video-of-st-elmos-fire-amid-idalia-evacuation\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:50:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:50:55","slug":"air-force-captures-video-of-st-elmos-fire-amid-idalia-evacuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/09\/01\/air-force-captures-video-of-st-elmos-fire-amid-idalia-evacuation\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force captures video of St. Elmo\u2019s fire amid Idalia evacuation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you looked up in the sky earlier this week and thought you saw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bustle.com\/articles\/92386-proof-rob-lowes-st-elmos-fire-earring-is-the-best-part-of-the-coming-of-age-film-that\" target=\"_blank\">Rob Lowe\u2019s dangly earring<\/a> sketched in<b> <\/b>brilliant flashes of light<b>, <\/b>you weren\u2019t far off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a striking example of<a href=\"https:\/\/oceanservice.noaa.gov\/ocean\/weird-ocean-weather.html\" target=\"_blank\"> St. Elmo\u2019s fire<\/a>, which shares its name with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0090060\/\" target=\"_blank\">1980s Brat Pack classic.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rare weather phenomenon is a colorful discharge of atmospheric electricity that typically occurs during a thunderstorm, <a href=\"https:\/\/oceanservice.noaa.gov\/ocean\/weird-ocean-weather.html\">according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a>, aka NOAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Air Force crew with the 50th Air Refueling Squadron shared a video Tuesday they captured of the sky spectacle during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2023\/08\/28\/macdill-air-force-base-orders-evacuations-as-hurricane-idalia-nears\/\" target=\"_blank\">a partial evacuation of MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida<\/a>, ahead of Hurricane Idalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve never seen it that prominent before,\u201d Staff Sgt. Dalton Degeneffe, one of the airmen who captured the strobe-like weather episode, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxweather.com\/watch\/play-69cc404db00102c\" target=\"_blank\">told Fox Weather<\/a>, adding that it was safe to fly in. Capt. Kristie Ciampa, one of the other airmen who witnessed the phenomenon, said the footage was captured somewhere over Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">All aircraft on the installation have been evacuated\/secured in preparation for <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/HurricaneIdalia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#HurricaneIdalia<\/a> . During the evacuation, the 50th ARS recorded St. Elmo\u2019s fire, a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created in an atmospheric electric field. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tqUGhfm8iN\">pic.twitter.com\/tqUGhfm8iN<\/a><\/p>&mdash; MacDill AFB (@MacDill_AFB) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MacDill_AFB\/status\/1696623235943530855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 29, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blue and purple streaks of \u201cluminous plasma\u201d were visible from the cockpit of the aircraft \u2014 though the series of stunning flashes was not exactly lightning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLightning is a direct movement of electrons from a cloud to the ground&#8230;while St. Elmo\u2019s fire is like a sparking effect, where electrons cover much less distance,\u201d Jase Bernhardt, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/what-is-st-elmos-fire-hurricane-idalia-video-macdill-air-force-base\/\" target=\"_blank\">an associate professor and director of sustainability studies at Hofstra University<\/a>, told CBS News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a sharp object \u201ccomes in contact with an extraordinarily high electrical field and a large number of electrons, the electrons can glow in various colors, like a neon sign, resulting in this rare phenomenon,\u201d according to NOAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it can be mesmerizing to watch, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/media\/zhu\/ZHU_Training_Page\/lightning_stuff\/lightning\/lightning_facts2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">NOAA warns about seeing St. Elmo\u2019s fire from a ship<\/a>, noting that \u201clightning may strike the mast within five minutes after it begins to glow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Where did the weather anomaly get its name? Not from a college hangout prone to Halloween bar fights and coming-of-age drama. Instead, it\u2019s derived from \u201cSt. Erasmus of Formia,\u201d one of the patron saints of sailors, according to NOAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not the first time Air Force pilots have encountered the glorious might of St. Elmo\u2019s fire. Earlier this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.af.mil\/News\/Photos\/igphoto\/2003151080\/\" target=\"_blank\">91st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker pilots<\/a> experienced the phenomenon while flying through stormy weather in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, if you\u2019re looking for evidence of the divine, \u00e0 la <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0090060\/characters\/nm0000389\" target=\"_blank\">Emilio Estevez as Kirby who opined \u201cshe is the only evidence of God I have seen,<\/a> with the exception of the mysterious force that removes one sock from the dryer every time I do my laundry,\u201d next time there\u2019s a thunderstorm, you might want to look up at the sky and see if you can spot the dazzling glow of St. Elmo\u2019s fire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Air Force crew recorded rare footage of a mysterious weather phenomenon that shares a name with a 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