Lightning in Chennai draws ‘Thor’ comparisons as sky turns purple

With the onset of the Northeast Monsoon, Chennai received heavy rains along with thunderstorms and lightning. In the midst of the downpour, lightning struck in the middle of the night and painted the sky a mind-blowing shade of purple. Videos of the moment have gone viral, with a clip from Sholinganallur showing a bolt hitting a building. The video begins with a flash of lightning before the scene lights up in bright purple for a few seconds. As the lightning subsides, the camera captures a captivating scene where the droplets slide across the surface of the window.

The video has received more than 3 lakh views on the social media platform and users are praising the magnificent and powerful display of lightning.

One user commented: “Wonderful click.”

Another said: “It looks like the scene from the movie ‘War of the Worlds’ where the aliens enter Earth through lightning.”

One user, likely an Avengers fan, declared: “He looks like the god of thunder. @thorofficial (sic) has arrived with his #Mjölnir (sic).”

“Wow, that was lightning. Brilliant shot in slow motion,” read one comment.

“Omg cinematic and scary,” read another comment.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chennai and neighboring districts are likely to witness thunderstorms and heavy rains, and has advised people to avoid venturing on waterlogged and slippery roads. There was an orange alert for October 15 and a red alert for October 16 implying stormy weather.

A low pressure area which developed over southeast Bay of Bengal on October 14 will further develop into a depression and may move northwest towards northern parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the southern Andhra Pradesh. This system is also contributing to the intensification of rain expected towards the latter part of the week.

To prevent this, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has toured flood-prone regions and ordered authorities to set up disaster preparedness mechanisms in anticipation of the rains, the Economic Times reported. All schools and colleges have also been closed and office workers are advised to continue working from home until October 18.

In the coming days, cloudy and rainy weather is expected in Chennai with temperatures expected to be between 26°C and 33°C.