Surveillance footage captured the shocking moment when lightning struck a police car. This rare incident happened in Newcastle, Oklahoma, on Monday afternoon.
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A slew of severe thunderstorms swept through the area that day, even leading to some tornadoes. The video captures surveillance of a parking lot with a few police vehicles. Within a few seconds, a bolt of lightning strikes the police car, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
Lightning Bolt Strikes Police Car In Oklahoma
It doesn’t look like the car was visibly damaged, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the lightning caused internal damage. Luckily, no one was inside the car, so no one was injured by the severe weather activity.
According to NBC News, this was part of a much bigger storm. It caused “heavy rains and damaging winds in parts of the Midwest and South.” Unfortunately, some tornadoes ran through the region and destroyed many homes.
The Oklahoma Police Department’s posting of that video was just the icing on the cake of a slew of disasters. “No one was hurt, but it could have been anyone,” the reporter said.
The damage was so terrible that the authorities may call the National Guard. Tornadoes tore through thousands of buildings in Saint Louis, Missouri, alone.
What’s worse is that some of their sirens failed to alert citizens of the weather. “There was a failure, a human failure,” said Mayor Cara Spencer. “A failure in protocol to get the sirens.”
A Facebook post from Newcastle Emergency Management continued to warn residents of the severe weather. “If you hear thunder, you’re close enough to get hit,” it wrote. “Get inside, stay away from trees and metal, and unplug electronics until the storm passes. Take lightning seriously every time.”
This hasn’t been the only recent devastating storm that hit Missouri. In early April, at least four people died after a series of tornadoes swept through the South and Midwest. The deadly storms injured dozens more citizens, and they caused “generational rainfall.”
“This isn’t routine,” said the National Weather Service in Memphis, Tennessee. “This is a rare, high-impact, and potentially devastating event.”