"Looks Like We're In Stranger Things," Says Internet As Sky In US City Turns Green

Skies in South Dakota, United States, on Tuesday, turned a bright shade of green right before severe weather pushed through the southeastern part of the state. 

Photos shared on social media documented the rare phenomenon. In a video, a person is heard comparing the sky to those seen in ‘The Wizard of Oz'. Another person compared them to 'Stranger Things'. As per Fox Weather, the green colour is created from light refraction within the thunderstorms and indicates that a storm will be capable of producing large hailstones. 

Take a look at the posts below: 

Green Sky's all of the sudden in South Dakota USA … pic.twitter.com/BxMIolG6mZ

— ⚡️hamaryah Ban Yahawadah 𐤔𐤌𐤓𐤉𐤄 (@eddiedevonne) July 5, 2022

Sioux Falls, SD #sdwxpic.twitter.com/uH8hRKbA4G

— Nathen Erickson (@TwstdSkyStudios) July 6, 2022

The Sky turned green in South Dakota 🧍🏿‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/wKaA2BiQCj

— SUMMER THUNDER STORM (@Nep222ne) July 7, 2022

pic.twitter.com/9AmKbYC8MB

— J (@Punkey_Power) July 5, 2022

Taking to social media, a National Weather Services (NWS) meteorologist also explained that thunderstorm clouds can glow green when the red light of the sun at the end of the day interacts with the water or ice content in the storm. Cory Martin declared the storm a ‘derecho' - which is a large and continuous event with wind speeds over 93 km per hour. 

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“It takes a tremendous amount of water content within the cloud to achieve this colour, which usually means a substantial amount of ice (large hail) has to be present!” read a graphic shared by Mr Martin. 

Pics of the green sky from my family in Sioux Falls have been incredible! Had to dig up this fun green cloud infographic I made back in the day. Hail reports not too large at the moment, but storms are very moisture loaded in this warm, tropical environment. #SDwx#IAwxpic.twitter.com/S39JLSRfEu

— Cory Martin (@cory_martin) July 5, 2022

According to the Independent, Tuesday's storm swept across South Dakota and even impacted parts of Nebraska and Iowa. It left thousands of homes without power for hours. The extent of damage from the long-lasting wind storm is still unclear.

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Meanwhile, this is not the first time clouds have turned to a different colour. Back in May, residents in China's eastern port city of Zhoushan were left stunned as the skies turned red. It was later revealed that the scary-looking red sky came from lights refracted from local boats in low clouds in the region. Meteorological experts explained that the weather in the eastern port city was perfect for a refraction phenomenon as the sky was cloudy with drizzle which led to an unusual reddening of the sky, triggering a brief panic.