Video captures ‘green glow’ caused by lightning strike near Saskatoon

Raw: Green glow appears after lightning strike A greenish glow appears after lightning strikes near Saskatoon. Courtesy: K.C. Donohue.

There’s an explanation for a strange green glow caught on camera during Tuesday’s lightning storm, according to Warman’s fire chief.

The video, submitted to CTV News, was taken northeast of Saskatoon near Highway 41 – overlooking the Warman and Aberdeen area. It shows a green glow right after a lightning strike.

“That green glow is known as a ‘power arc,’ and is typical of a lightning strike hitting a high voltage line,” Russ Austin, Warman’s fire chief, told CTV News in an email. “The lightning hits a line and arcs to a second line causing them to short circuit and produce that green glow.”

No serious damage was reported following Tuesday night’s lightning storm, according to Austin and the Saskatoon Fire Department.