Strange lightning seen off Outer Banks likened to UFO invasion in ‘War of the Worlds’
Strange lightning reminiscent of a Hollywood-style alien invasion bedeviled the Outer Banks over the weekend, and surreal examples continue to show up on social media.
Most of the photos and video were taken Friday evening, including images of the lightning flashing alongside a nearly full moon.
The shifting barrier islands off North Carolina are notorious for odd weather phenomenon, and some people reported the lightning continued for hours over the coast.
“I was mesmerized by lightning,” Dana Severs-Morales wrote on Facebook.
“It was like a light show,” Keeli Roberts Smentkowski posted.
Avon resident Diana Baxter was among the first to post video on the Hatteras Island Facebook page, with more than 39,000 followers. Baxter is a keen observer of Outer Banks weather, as mystery-romance novelist who bases her books along the North Carolina coast.
She told McClatchy News the lightning seemed to come from one cloud, and it reminded her of the flashes that preceded alien ships in the movie “War of the Worlds.” Others saw the similarity, too.
”I could see flashes of light in the living room. I looked out the stairwell window to see the full Hunter moon and below it a cloud with lightning flashes,” Baxter said.
“I stood on my front porch and began to film it. ... I had never seen a full moon with a lightning cloud below it! ... This was strange. I had to record it. It was eerie and silent. Not a rumble or peep. Just a light show with the moon watching from above.”
It may have been coincidental that the lightning came just after the October 2021 full moon — “the Hunter’s Moon or Blood Moon” — which has spiritual meaning and “is chock-full of fiery energy,” Baxter said.
She wasn’t the only one who saw the makings of a story in the scenes.
Professional photographer Wes Snyder posted a series of lightning photos that will be included in a time-lapse compilation recorded at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
And Elaine Moore of Wilson, North Carolina, posted a video of the lightning paired with moonlight reflecting off the ocean. She included a ghost story intro with the video: “Once upon a time, on a dark and stormy night...”
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Strange lightning seen off Outer Banks likened to UFO invasion in ‘War of the Worlds’."