Rare St. Elmo’s Fire strikes hurricane evacuation plane

The turbulent atmospheric conditions in and around Hurricane Idalia gave rise to the beautiful and portentous weather phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s Fire. The event was captured by a MacDill Air Force Base plane in Florida as it was being evacuated from the base, with video from the cockpit showing plasma discharges dancing and crackling over the plane’s windshield as it moved away from the hurricane’s path.

St. Elmo’s Fire, named after St. Elmo (or St. Erasmus, as he is more modernly known) occurs when atmospheric turbulence loads the air with a static charge. When the charge buildup is great enough, often over 100kV, the air becomes ionized and conductive, allowing the charge to flow, glowing with the pale blue-violet light of nitrogen plasma. It’s quite harmless, although the weather it precedes often isn’t.

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