The Scariest Thunderstorm of All Time

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]I don't believe there ever was a worse frightened lot of people in the world than the inhabitants of Bar Harbor were that night.

[00:00:08]That purple ball lightning flashed about and obtruded itself everywhere. There was scarcely a house that was not visited by it.

[00:00:16]Sunday, February 13th, 1853 started out as a normal cold New England day for the folks of Bar Harbor, Maine. Outside, it was snowing. Nothing too terrifying about that. But something else was going on in the atmosphere. A storm system was slowly developing near the region. A storm system the likes no one had ever seen before, or really even since. Soon the snow would slow down and a vibe of calmness would come over the island. But it wouldn't last. The calm conditions would soon be replaced by extreme darkness and insane lightning. Purple strobelike lightning filled the sky as balls of fire began combing through windows and down chimneys. The lightning was sometimes so intense that it created craters in the ground 3 ft deep and 8 ft wide. It sounds impossible, but the large amount of eyewitnesses and their testimonies proved that something horrifying really did occur over Bar Harbor that night during the storm. We were all nearly frightened to death and huddled mechanically in the middle of the room like a parcel of sheep.

[00:01:15]Suddenly, there came a clap of thunder that shook the house from foundation to roof. And almost immediately, a ball of purple fire crashed through a window.

[00:01:26]But how is an event like this even possible? Today, we're going to discuss this terrifying storm event in detail.

[00:01:34]We will also look at the rare meteorological conditions needed to make such a storm possible. This event truly might be one of the strangest, most terrifying thunderstorms in recorded history. But strangely, hardly anyone even knows about it. This is the Bar Harbor Purple Fire Lightning Snowstorm of 1853. It all began February 13th, 1853. On that morning around 8:00 a.m., it was sunny and cold on Mount Desert Island. Mount Desert Island is a large island just off the coast of the mainland USA in the state of Maine.

[00:02:05]During the winter months, the East Coast is known to encounter some pretty severe winter storms. Low pressure winter storm systems known as norers can dump huge amounts of snow in only a few hours.

[00:02:16]Now, these winter storms are particularly tough on Mount Desert Island as they can cut off the island from the main land. You see, there's only one road connecting the two. For this reason, the residents of the communities on the island must be prepared to get cut off in case they are snowed in. And around 10:00 a.m., it seems like that might happen. A weather system moved in over the area and snow began to fall. Over the next few hours, the snowfall grew in intensity, and the winds began to pick up from the northeast. By 3 p.m., it was very cold, very windy, and very snowy. The weather had deteriorated rapidly. The villages on Mount Desert Island were essentially caught in a severe blizzard. Folks in the community of Bar Harbor hunkered down for another strong seasonal snowstorm, but something changed around 6:00 p.m. Shortly after the sun had set, the wind stopped. The snow continued to fall, but it slowed down significantly.

[00:03:08]An eerie calmness came in over the island. People were perplexed by this sudden stillness. Assuming the storm had ended, a few individuals went outside to begin clearing the snow, but they noticed something strange. From the west, a massive dark cloud was rolling in. And by 7:00 p.m., the cloud had overcome the island. The streets got darker and darker until everything was black. People could hardly see a thing outside, so they went back in. Then suddenly, a low rumble of thunder could be heard off in the distance from the west. Thunder in Maine in February is extremely unusual. The people of Bar Harbor then looked out their windows and saw faint flashes off in the distance, slowly approaching them. The earlier blizzard may have been strong, but the real storm was about to begin.

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[00:05:40]It was now nearly 8:00 p.m. and the storm was getting closer and closer. The thunder grew louder and the flashes of lightning became more and more intense until they were essentially constant.

[00:05:51]The lighting was described to have a strobe-like effect to it and occasional extremely loud thunderclaps shook the foundations of homes. In fact, the thunder was so intense that each instance would later be described as a mini earthquake. And by the way, this whole time the snow continued to fall.

[00:06:08]Mr. Holden and his wife sheltered in their house in Bar Harbor. They observed the severe phenomenon through their home's window.

[00:06:15]Let me kill your vent. It's scary.

[00:06:23]seems to be getting closer.

[00:06:24]>> Suddenly, the Holdens would witness something they had never seen before.

[00:06:32]>> Was that Was that lightning? Purple.

[00:06:35]What was that all about?

[00:06:35]>> Was that purple lightning?

[00:06:37]>> But the purple lightning was only the beginning. While Mrs. Holden stood by the window, a small ball of fire suddenly came through it and struck her hand. Her hand and her entire arm suddenly went numb. They then both looked out the window and saw dozens of electric fireballs falling from the sky when suddenly a large ball of fire broke through the window and then struck a large grandfather clock. This phenomenon wasn't just seen by the Holdens. Another local in Bar Harbor witnessed the scene unfold out his kitchen window. He too witnessed the bizarre purple lightning and raining balls of fire. This is what he would later say about the event. I don't believe there was a worse frightened lot of people in the world than the inhabitants of Bar Harbor were that night. The purple lightning flashed about and obtruded itself everywhere.

[00:07:22]There was scarcely a house that was not visited by it. Now, apparently, according to eyewitnesses from the event, these strange balls of fire or ball lightning would enter random homes through chimneys or windows. They seemed to almost be attracted to the homes.

[00:07:37]There were also reports of lightning flashes, lighting matches. Another local named Captain Maurice Rich was with his wife witnessing the storm when a bright flash of lightning suddenly took out all the oil lamps in their home. This bright flash startled his wife so much that she fainted. He carried her to bed and then he grabbed a match to light a new lantern when suddenly another huge flash of lightning apparently lit the match for him. And then the shock wave from the thunder knocked him to the ground several feet away from where he was once standing. Both Maurice Rich and his wife would later recover from the event, but strangely after it, he wouldn't speak for weeks. He was that shook up. It was also said that during the event, there was a grove of trees that saw lots of strange electrical lightning activity, specifically between the houses of Carter and Lodge. Apparently, the purple lightning shot in between the houses and various trees in this patch of woods, and this occurred on six different occasions. The lightning was said to play about inside the trees. This obviously freaked out the occupants of the two homes, so they fled to other nearby houses to seek shelter, but the worst of the storm was yet to come. Now, here is where things get a little crazy, maybe even too crazy. In one specific newspaper, the writer mentions how a bolt of lightning came down and struck a flag pole, destroying it into a 100 pieces. And then after it did that, ball lightning appeared at the base of the pole and created a huge trench in the frozen ground four or five feet deep and then traveled to the east for 500 ft plowing up the ground. Boulders were knocked high into the air. It was extremely destructive. Thankfully, there were no structures in the way of this weird ball destroying plasma thing, but all the trees, all the stones in the ground in its path were destroyed in one big long line. The village of Bar Harbor was also not the only community to be affected by this storm. Other nearby communities on the island were also affected. Southeast Harbor and Northwest Harbor to name a few. Southeast Harbor and Northwest Harbor saw major damage to several ships where lightning shattered a mass into a 100 pieces. It was also here where the storm claimed a life.

[00:09:46]Now, this thunderstorm was clearly quite intense, but as quickly as it started, it stopped. After 20 minutes of terror, the storm moved out over the sea. The wind began to pick up again from the northeast and the snow continued to fall. The island went back to its normal blizzard-like conditions. Finally, the great purple fire lightning thunderstorm of 1853 was over.

[00:10:10]The next morning, damage from the previous night was quite apparent.

[00:10:14]Massive craters where lightning struck surrounded the communities. Huge stones that were under the surface have been torn out of the ground and shattered among the snow. The grove of trees where the lightning played about was essentially destroyed. Most of the trees were completely collapsed and only a few were standing. Interestingly, there were also reports of areas where there was no snow whatsoever, almost as if the bright lightning had melted large areas of snow. Perhaps most surprisingly about this freak weather event is that there was hardly any damage to any buildings.

[00:10:44]Only trees and stones saw the damage and thankfully there was only one fatality.

[00:10:49]There were also no significant injuries, just general shock from that night.

[00:10:54]Strangely, this particular thunderstorm only seemed to impact Mount Desert Island. No other towns on the mainland or island in the vicinity reported any intense thunderstorm that night. It's almost as if the island entered a scary storm twilight zone, cut off from the rest of the state. Kind of sounds like a Stephen King novel.

[00:11:13]>> Island folk know how to keep a secret.

[00:11:16]That was true on Rowan Oak Island in 1587 and it's true on Little Tall in 1989.

[00:11:22]>> Now, this event was clearly dramatic and unlike any storm that has been seen since. The purple lightning, the rainy balls of ball lightning and fire, massive lightning craters. So, the question is, did it really occur? Or was it just a rare instance of thunders snow blown way out of proportion? Well, let's look at the evidence. The main evidence that we have that the storm occurred comes from an 1884 New York Times article with an unknown writer titled Snow and Thunder recalling a singular storm which startled people 31 years ago. The article goes into detail about the event including the purple lightning and the raining balls of fire. Quote, "The thunder shook the buildings like an earthquake and a short time after the first appearance of the phenomenon, the lightning became a deep purple or violet color and took the form of balls of fire." The article very much emphasizes how terrifying this event was. Quote, "I remember we were all nearly frightened to death and huddled mechanically in the middle of the room like a parcel of sheep. Suddenly, there came a clap of thunder that shook the house from foundation to roof and almost immediately a ball of purple fire crashed through a window." So, we have this one random article in the New York Times. Can it actually be trusted? Well, the author thinks so. He states that others would have surely remembered it.

[00:12:39]I haven't the least doubt that there are plenty of people there who remember that frightful storm and who can substantiate every word I say. They certainly remember it if they were there at the time. For no one could ever forget that night. So it seems like it was obviously a pretty impactful event. But if it was such an impactful event, surely it would have made the paper 31 years prior. So did it? Yes. Now you can look online.

[00:13:04]There are a few modern articles about this event. There's not many, but those that do exist state that the event occurred on March 13th, 1853. And the day after in the Gettysburg Republican compiler, which is based in Pennsylvania, we have this article titled singular phenomenon, stating, quote, "A severe snowstorm accompanied by lightning occurred in portions of Maine on the 13th Ult." A correspondent of the Gardener Fountain writing from Bass Harbor, Mount Desert, described the storm, as it appeared there, as awful and sublime. The lightning was of a purple color and sometimes appeared like balls of fire coming in through windows and doors and down the chimneys while the houses trembled and shook in their very foundations. Wow. Sounds exactly like the event from the New York Times article. And we know it is the same event from the New York Times article because it goes on to talk about the same individuals like the Holdens. Now, most modern articles state that this event occurred on March 13th because the date of the article is March 14th, but it actually says occurred in portions of Maine on the 13th Ult. Apparently, that thing means of the previous month. So, let's go back to the previous month and find the actual article that this article is referencing from the Gardener Fountain. And here is that article. The article says all the information about the storm and it comes from a friend from Traymont, one of the communities on Mount Desert Island. And it described the same terrifying phenomenon we have already discussed. Okay, so here are our primary sources about this insane weather event. Is there anything else that could maybe back this story up? Did any other newspaper mention lightning?

[00:14:42]Because even if they weren't in Bar Harbor, they would surely see lightning off in the distance, especially at night. The main city that covered the news from Mount Desert Island at the time was Bangor. And in the Bangor Daily newspaper, yes, there is an article about lightning over Bar Harbor and that it could be seen over Portland and Bangor during the night. Quote, "The Ellsworth Herald states that on the 13th inst there was a violent storm with thunder and lightning at Mount Desert.

[00:15:09]Flashes of lightning were seen in this city and also at Portland on the same evening in the midst of a snowstorm. So, we could pretty much confirm that there really was some sort of lightning thunderstorm event over Bar Harbor that night. But how rare is lightning in Maine in February anyway?

[00:15:28]Extremely rare. In fact, there have only been four occurrences of lightning in Maine since 1948. Like a single flash.

[00:15:36]So, very rare. But remember, this wasn't just one single lightning bolt. No, this was a 20inute constant strobe like lightning flash bonanza. What could possibly explain that? Well, let's get to the science. So, this is what I think went down on February 13th, 1853 over Mount Desert Island. I believe a noraster storm system came in over the coast of Maine. A noraster is a low pressure extrropical cyclone and they're very, very common over Maine and the East Coast in general this time of year.

[00:16:09]and they bring a ton of snow. In fact, we can prove that it was a noraster because one of the articles stated that the gale of wind was coming from the northeast, which is very typical with a noraster setup. Now, remember, it suddenly got really calm for 20 minutes.

[00:16:25]What exactly is going on there? Well, in theory, the island may have been entering a calm, dry slot in the nor easter, and within minutes of the wind dying, a massive hidden thundercloud rolled in over the area. And because the surface was so dead calm, the convective energy released straight down generating a localized violent thunderstorm. So when it's snowing and when there is lightning, there is a phenomenon known as thunders snow. This is uh when lightning occurs during a snowstorm. And it's rare, but it does occur. It happens when unstable air rises rapidly, creating electrical charges that release as lightning. It also usually occurs during intense snowfall.

[00:17:14]The sound of thunder is also different.

[00:17:17]It's actually scarier and more like a low rumble because it's being muffled by all the thick snow.

[00:17:40]And most importantly, cold weather storms frequently produce positively charged lightning. These rare bolts of lightning originate from the very top of the storm system and are up to 10 times more powerful than standard summer lightning strikes. And they are very loud.

[00:18:16]The massive energy discharged from these positively charged bolts would easily shake houses to their foundations. This point is very important. It was likely a huge reason why people were freaking out. There was lightning over the area, but it was positively charged. So, it was lightning that's 10 times louder than your typical lightning. And if it's like 1853, you know, you don't know much about anything. You you you're thinking that the world is ending. But what about the purple lightning? Okay, so the purple lightning thing at first makes the story sound made up, but it actually gives it more credibility because it is a real thing and there's a pretty straightforward explanation. So, when the atmosphere has a lot of snow in it, it can create a pink purple sky. This is rare, but I encountered it myself not too long ago.

[00:19:01]>> Pink vibes out there, huh?

[00:19:05]Kind of went down a little bit as I took out my phone. This was during a blizzard. Thick, low clouds packed with snow can scatter the light from lightning to make it appear purple or violet or even pink. Obviously, it was snowing pretty hard during this event.

[00:19:20]So, the purple lightning thing makes sense if the light is being scattered in just the right way. Now, what's way rare than purple lightning is ball lightning.

[00:19:30]And this story features a lot of it.

[00:19:32]Some of the skeptics are going to point out that this ball lightning aspect of the storm makes it all sound fake. But there are a few factors we should discuss that may have aided to the creation of ball lightning. First and foremost, the environment in this situation was already extremely electrified. It was dry. It was staticky. You have that positively charged lightning. The intense lightning and electrified atmosphere could have supercharged the ground, making everything on Mount Desert Island act like a massive electrical conductor.

[00:20:01]There's also the vaporized silicone theory. So, according to this theory, when a positive lightning bolt strikes the ground, it can actually vaporize elements in the coastal main soil. These particles could then form a floating glowing sphere that slowly oxidizes in the air, creating a crackling floating orb of fire that could maybe in theory pass through windows. There's also the coastal salt sea spray in the air and that could have also further increased electrical conductivity. So to bring it all together, a very unique atmospheric situation over Mount Desert Island may have created a once-ina-lifetime terrifying electric storm. Maybe it was an extremely rare circumstance where all the elements were there to create something insane. Ball lighting is extremely rare, but maybe if the conditions are perfect, it can become almost plentiful to the point where it seems like it's a raining down from the sky above. And that, my friends, would indeed create the scariest thunderstorm of all time. And of course, we do have to admit that maybe the whole thing was blown way out of proportion because people in the 1800s did like to kind of make things up a little bit. That's possible, too. but that's way more boring. So, we're going to go with the rare electrical storm theory. What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you next time.