June 22, 2023 |
Photo – Lightning Strike – Courtesy National Weather Service
Some folks posting to a local social media page wondered if mysterious flashes of light spotted off Highway 30 in Carbon County Tuesday night might be space aliens from a far-away planet.
At least that was the Facebook chatter on a Rawlins social media page. It turns out the lights were meteorological in origin, not astronomical.
Around 10:30 Tuesday night, a person posted a video on a local social media group page. The video appears to have been taken from Highway 30 between Hanna and Medicine Bow. It shows a series of strange flashes in the distance. Commenters on the post said they could see the lights from Saratoga. The darkness made it difficult to determine where the lights were coming from. Speculation on the origin of the lights ranged from fire crew training to UFOs and even a mini volcano.
National Weather Service in Cheyenne Lead Forecaster Tim Trudel told Bigfoot 99 that the phenomenon was not alien visitors or a volcano. Trudel said the posters were seeing a distant thunderstorm to the north.
Carbon County residents may rest easy knowing they are not under imminent threat from outer space invaders. The flashing lights were an earthly phenomenon.
