Lightning Strikes Again: Photographer Snaps Unique Burning Tree Image

GREENE COUNTY - The area has been hit hard the last few days with lightning strikes.

A couple in their 60s died of smoke inhalation this past week in Troy when their house was apparently struck by lightning. On Thursday night, photographer Michael Weaver was stunned to see a blazing tree top at 610 East County Road in Greene County that was about a mile north of Reddish Ford Road Bridge. Apparently, the tree had been hit with lightning just before the photographer passed the area. The stump of the tree was about 20 feet in the air, Weaver said. Lightning had been striking in the area previously to Weaver's discovery.

There was nothing burning around the tree and no one present, so Weaver said it had to be a lightning strike.

"I had never witnessed anything quite like this tree being struck," Weaver said, a photographer for 48 years. "It was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen in my career. It looked like a little light on the top of it with burning embers, it was very strange."

More like this:

From Thor to Zeus: How Storms Became Stories of Power

Today

Financial Aid Director Receives LC’s Highest Honor

May 23, 2026

St. Louis County Felon Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Crime Linked to Toddler’s Accidental Shooting  

Jun 17, 2026

New Signage Elevates Lincoln-Douglas Square Visibility In Alton

2 days ago

Madison County Coroner Releases Victim's Name In Fatal Alton Crash

Jun 16, 2026