Photos: Thunder Moon, Lightning Illuminate Cities Across the Globe

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

July 24,2013; 1:57PM,EDT

 

 

 

Image courtesy of AccuWeather.com Astronomy Facebook Fan Carl Cohen.
The night of July 22 was illuminated by an enormous thunder moon, and skygazers took to social media to post pictures of the celestial event.
As the name suggests, the thunder moon occurs during the middle of the summer, in the midst of high heat and thunderstorms.
Following suit, severe weather and thunderstorms broke out across the globe over the past week, putting on a light show in many major cities, including London, New York and Las Vegas.
London received significant attention for the active weather, as the royal baby boy was born Monday afternoon. Spectators lined the gates of Buckingham Palace hoping to catch a glimpse of the new arrival.
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Meanwhile, the London Eye, the Tower Bridge and other national monuments were illuminated to celebrate the birth, making photos such as the one below particularly unique.
The storms did not produce much rainfall in London; London Heathrow International has recorded only 0.06 of an inch since the start of July.



  HuffPostUK Pic Desk        ✔ @HuffPostUKPics

Lightning strikes behind The London Eye which is coloured to mark the birth of the Prince of Cambridge pic.twitter.com/lgDLISjvOG

3:31 AM - 23 Jul 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Google Earth tweeted an image of a massive lightning bolt striking just behind the Statue of Liberty, which just reopened this month since sustaining significant damage from Superstorm Sandy.
The storms helped slice the scorching temperatures that plagued the city last week and resulted in the fourth official heat wave of the summer.
Finally, one photo managed to capture a vivid bolt that occurred against a backdrop of the iconic Las Vegas strip. In the night sky, the bolt runs parallel to the spotlight shining from atop the Luxor.
Nearing the peak of monsoon season, Vegas has had problematic rainfall over the past several days. On Friday, more than 6 inches of water was reported flowing across roadways. The Mirage Casino also reported a roof collapse due to heavy rain and damage to guest elevators.