Lightning Rips Across Santiago Sky Before Violent Storm

Lightning lit up the night sky over Santiago in the early hours of October 20 as a powerful frontal system bore down on central Chile.

X user Guillermo filmed the storm from a high vantage point at around 4:30 a.m., capturing a bright flash that illuminated the clouds and the mountains on the horizon above the city’s lights.

Residents across the Chilean capital reported lightning from around 4:40 a.m., particularly toward the foothills and the north of the Metropolitan Region, with some hail reported in Lo Barnechea. Chile’s meteorological service warned of thunderstorms, hail and gusty winds throughout the day, with the heaviest rain expected from the afternoon into the night.

The national disaster agency, Senapred, declared a red alert for landslide risk in ten communes, including Las Condes, Lo Barnechea, Vitacura, La Florida and Puente Alto, where classes were suspended. Forecasters expected 25 to 35 millimeters of rain in the capital in a short period, a week after a similar storm triggered mudslides in the city.