“It’s nearly invisible to the naked eye but our instruments give rise to a vision of swaths of scintillating corona glowing as thunderstorms pass overhead,” said Patrick McFarland. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…s-storms-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…s-storms-2)

Can storms cause electrical discharges on trees? This is something that has eluded scientists for decades, but a recent study published in Geophysical Research Letters might finally have an answer as a team of researchers collected first-time images of trees emanating ultraviolet (UV) light during a thunderstorm. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand how weather could affect plants worldwide.

For the study, the researchers traveled to Florida, which is known for its frequent and powerful thunderstorms, with the goal of imaging electric pulses that appear at the tips of trees during such storms. The primary motivation behind the study was to provide direct evidence of an atmospheric phenomenon that had been hypothesized since the 1930s but never captured in nature. During this time, scientists suspected that trees emit light during thunderstorms due to the electrical discharges but never had direct evidence.

Using a customized camera capable of capturing only corona light, lightning, and fire, this team of researchers successfully captured first-time evidence of trees emitting UV light during a Florida thunderstorm. These findings are crucial in helping researchers better understand the link between atmospheric electricity and forest ecology.