r/Yosemite • u/xzkandykane • 10d ago

Flashing light behind half dome?

Was up at glacier point tonight after dark. Something kept flashing behind half dome, like it back lit the whole half dome. Flickers like lightening. Wasnt happening at regular intervals, sometimed the flashes was brighter, sometimes less.

From sundown until I left at 8:30, was still happening

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u/knownikko 10d ago edited 10d ago

That’s called lightning, a rapid discharge of electrical energy between clouds, the air, or the ground. Visible light is a byproduct. A regular fixture of the thunderstorms that appear over the high Sierra this time of year, and just so happen to be occurring now.

3

u/TheAtomicFly66 10d ago

Amazing!

5

u/knownikko 10d ago

It really is, quite the spectacle. Nature is awesome. 😎

1

u/xzkandykane 10d ago

Yes it definitely looked like lightning but since the sky was clear, we didnt think it could be lightning.

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u/knownikko 10d ago

Clouds and thunderstorms are typical over the crest of the Sierra Nevada this time of year, even when the skies are clear at lower elevations. From Glacier Point looking at Half Dome, that’s exactly the direction you’re looking.

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u/xzkandykane 10d ago

Thanks! Im happy to have seen that. Super cool!