A shocking new video captured the moment lightning struck a county truck during severe thunderstorms in Missouri last week.
Greene County, Missouri, shared video on Facebook showing lightning striking a truck in a parking lot, igniting a fiery blast.
The bolt struck the roof of a Greene County Highway Department semi-truck, cracking its front and rear windshield. The truck also suffered some moderate damage to the interior.
Crews are still examining the truck’s electrical and mechanical systems, the county said.
‘DAMAGING’ MISSOURI TORNADO KILLS MULTIPLE PEOPLE, AUTHORITIES SAY
After the lightning struck the ground, it blew off several manhole covers and damaged more equipment.
No one was inside, but a Greene County Sheriff’s Office deputy was nearby when the lightning struck.
“THANKFULLY she was NOT injured by the strike nor were any nearby fuel tanks damaged!” the county wrote. “Crazy power of mother nature!“
The video and photos were supplied by the Greene County Highway Department.
MIDWEST, SOUTH BRACE FOR MASSIVE STORMS, POSSIBLY MISSISSIPPI-STYLE TORNADO REPEAT
Fierce storms that started last Friday and continued through the weekend spawned deadly tornadoes in 11 states as the system plodded through Arkansas and into the South, Midwest and Northeast. The caught-on-camera lightning strike in Greene County came days before a large tornado tore through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, causing widespread destruction and killing multiple people as a broad swath of the Midwest and South braced for further storms that could spawn additional twisters and hail.
The tornado touched down around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and moved through a rural area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles south of St. Louis, Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said, according to the Associated Press. He said it caused “multiple injuries and multiple deaths,” but he did not specify how many or say precisely where they occurred.
“The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see it,” Parrott said.
He added a search and rescue operation involving multiple agencies was underway and that crews had to use chainsaws to cut back trees and brush to reach some homes.
The patrol posted an overhead photo of the damage that showed uprooted trees and homes that had been reduced to rubble.
