This Time-Lapse Thunderstorm Video Will Leave You Shook

There’s something about a window-rattling thunderstorm that captivates us. 

Most of us can recall what it was like to be a kid and watch a big storm roll in. The flashes of lightning, the rumbling thunder, the pelting rain. It made us feel small and powerless. It inspired feelings of fear and awe. It still does.

Maybe that’s why we found this “Shadows in the Sky” video compilation of thunderstorms to be strangely compelling. Photographer Mike Oblinsky captured gorgeous time-lapse images of storms rolling in and set the video to haunting music. Expand to full-screen and unmute for this five-minute tour through nature’s raw power, and you’ll be overwhelmed with wonder.

In the Old Testament, God often appears in cloud and thunder — this video makes clear why our ancestors used that image:

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar, 
and he brings up clouds from the end of the earth,
makes lightning flash in the rain,
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

It’s easy to go through our summer enjoying the warm weather, soaking in the sun, and relaxing. Most of the time, we get to shape our lives however we want. If it’s too hot outside, we turn on the A/C or go see a movie. Even checking our Dark Sky app gives us a sense of control over what the weather will be like tomorrow. 

A good thunderstorm shakes us out of that false sense of control — it puts us in our place. And it’s a good thing to remember that we are creatures under the providence of a loving — but powerful — Creator. The sense of wonder that tiptoes right up to the edge of fear is healthy for us. Reveling in it can even become a prayer.