Lasso Lightning

A lightning bolt in the shape of a lasso cuts across the northwest sky in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 5:12 am, Sunday, July 17, 2016--as seen from Bowman Woods Park. It was imaged as a five-second exposure at f/5.6, 250 ISO and 18mm focal length. The lightning display was part of a powerful storm system that blew through the area during the early morning hours. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

The following day, the National Weather Service surveyed EF2 tornado damage in the nearby town of Vinton. The tornado apparently struck just before 5:00 am. The above radar screen capture is shown at the time of the Vinton event.

This radar screen capture corresponds to the top photo, with an arrow pointing from the camera's location toward the lightning.