Chicago Triple Lightning Strike: Craig Shimala's 2010 and 2014 Videos

On the evening of 30 June 2014, a violent line of storms swept across Chicago, and photographer Craig Shimala was ready with his cameras. One frame from his time-lapse caught three bolts hitting three of the city's tallest skyscrapers at the same moment: Willis Tower, Trump International Hotel and Tower, and the John Hancock Center. Remarkably, it was the second time he had recorded this triple strike.

The June 30, 2014 derecho storm video

Shimala published his footage as "Chicago Derecho Storm Video and Time-lapse Highlights – June 30, 2014". A derecho is a long-lived, fast-moving line of thunderstorms with damaging straight-line winds. Shimala shot with a Canon 7D, using an 8 mm fisheye lens along with 50 mm and 17–40 mm lenses, plus a GoPro Hero2 for extra angles. The triple strike appears as a single still taken from one of his time-lapse sequences.

The first triple strike, June 23, 2010

Four years earlier, on the early evening of 23 June 2010, Shimala had worked late, then set up his tripod outside to film a line of storms. About 15 minutes in, just as he reached to stop one recording and start the next, lightning hit Willis Tower, the Trump tower and the John Hancock building simultaneously. On the soundtrack you can hear him quietly say "yes!" He titled the video "Lightning strikes three of the tallest buildings in Chicago at the same time!"

Why lightning keeps hitting Chicago's towers

"Lightning never strikes the same place twice" is a myth. The US National Weather Service says lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially tall, pointed, isolated objects, and New York's Empire State Building is hit an average of 23 times a year. Chicago's tallest towers are natural targets, and Shimala filmed all three being struck at once in two different summers. Willis Tower, known as Sears Tower until 2009, rises 442 metres (1,451 ft) to its roof and 527 metres (1,729 ft) to the tips of its antennas, and its Skydeck on the 103rd floor is the highest observation deck in the United States.

How lightning photographers get the shot

Shimala's results show the two main techniques. Video or rapid time-lapse captures every flash and lets you pull out the best frame later, which is how the 2014 triple strike was found. Long still exposures on a tripod leave the shutter open for several seconds so that any bolt crossing the frame is recorded. A wide or fisheye lens covers more sky and raises the odds.

Shoot from shelter. The National Weather Service's advice is to get into a substantial building or a hard-topped vehicle as soon as you hear thunder. A camera on a tripod by a window or under solid cover can keep shooting while you stay safe.

A storm seen over a city looks very different from lightning observed from orbit, and our lightning-photography feature collects more dramatic storm images.

Related reading

• Scott Sheppard’s Lightning Incident Near Fairburn
• Seven Lightning Photographs: Landmarks, Volcanoes and Exposure
• A Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Strike Near Darwin
• Lightning in Slow Motion: Branches and Bright Pulses

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