Storm Chasers Capture the Moment A Prius Gets Struck By Lightning

Mother Nature remains undefeated since the dawn of time, and she has shown no signs of stepping down anytime soon. Nobody knows this better than the storm chasers looking to get up close and personal.

This was the case for chasers More Pi and High Risk Chris when they were out chasing tornados in Iowa in the middle of a thunderstorm. During their chase, a Toyota Prius being driven by one of the drivers gets struck by a bolt of lightning. Of course, it was all caught on camera.

In the slow-motion replay of the lightning strike, you can see the plasma’s path through the sky down into the antennae of the Prius, vaporizing it upon contact. The chasers even point out that some sparks of lightning even made it to where his tires meet the pavement.

While More Pi, who was behind the wheel of the Prius was unharmed, the vehicle itself may be toast. Engine functions failed to turn back on, and his dash camera froze the exact moment it was struck by lightning. While the duo did manage to capture some unexpected data for their research, they will have to wait a week before their local dealership will take a look at it.