Severe weather ignites at record-breaking pace this summer

The severe weather that has been active throughout this summer has provided wild visuals of weather systems in action.

July had the highest number of preliminary severe weather reports on record for the month since 2004 with 6,637 combined wind, hail and tornado reports, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC). The previous record was 5,642 in 2016.

Large hail was particularly prevalent with 188 accounts of hailstones measuring at least 2 inches in diameter, more than any previous July on record and the sixth-most for any month dating back to 2004.

The hyperactive severe weather in July continued right into August across the central and eastern United States.

On Aug. 5, clouds circled overhead in a foreboding wall of darkness as storms moved through Boise City, Oklahoma, located in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The supercell visible in the video seemed otherworldly as it loomed over the area.

On Aug. 9, AccuWeather Meteorologist and Storm Chaser Tony Laubach intercepted a tornado live on air while in northeastern Colorado. The twister was accompanied by baseball-sized hail.

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Another outburst of robust thunderstorms blasted across the central and eastern U.S. late last week and over the weekend, with videos showing the fury of lightning, intense rain and wind.

Laubach again captured intense storm footage -- this time across parts of Kansas -- over the weekend. Wind-driven rain came down in sheets as he filmed the severe weather barraging traffic and pelting structures like a gas station. Fierce storms were also captured unleashing rain and wind across portions of Oklahoma.

Farther east, AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell chased damaging severe weather across parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, Aug. 12, two meteorologists who met while working at AccuWeather, tied the knot in Bethlehem, Connecticut, and the two were treated to a stormy spectacle during the wedding reception.

"Married my best friend on Saturday 08/12 and had the most amazing non-stop lightning display during our reception," Josh Searles posted on X. Searles shared a video clip of him and his wife while spider lightning flickered overhead.

Sky-scattering lightning bolts also illuminated the sky over West Virginia over the weekend, including in Keyser, located in the northeastern portion of the state, as a storm rumbled through after nightfall.

The next day, a video taken from Long Island captured a lightning bolt that struck the Chrysler building in New York City. The stunning video perfectly captured the bright flash of light, and when slowed down depicts the lightning bolt snaking down toward the tip of the skyscraper.

Mesmerizing photos and videos of nature were not just associated with severe weather.

The same day that lightning shocked skyscrapers in New York City, people in Fremont, California, were treated to the sight of a double rainbow arching overhead.

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