Remarkably smooth, non-forked, laminar lightning discharges dissipated some storm-induced ground current into the sky on a northwest Oklahoma evening, while mostly hidden in-cloud flashes brightened the landscape nearly to levels of heavily overcast daylight. One must be careful near electric lines, in and near thunderstorms, as even a somewhat-distant strike to the same set of wires may result in a dangerous spark hitting the observer. This is one reason I try to avoid power lines when shooting lightning—the other being their unsightliness. Fortunately, either the lines were very well-grounded between me and the lightning, or didn’t get struck.
7 NW Custer City OK (8 Apr 15) Looking W
35.711, -98.9963