Trending Now - Researchers Document Trees Illuminated by Storm-generated Electricity

WHO:

Science Daily - A team from Penn State conducted the research.

Earth.com - P. J. McFarland is the lead author of the study.

WHAT:

Science Daily - Researchers captured electrical glows, known as "corona discharges," from treetops during storms.

Earth.com - The coronas are weak electrical sparks that form on the tips of leaves when a thunderstorm's electric field builds up.

Earth.com - The Penn State team recorded hundreds of tiny UV flashes from trees during thunderstorms.

Earth.com - Each corona was pushing roughly one microamp of current.

WHERE:

Earth.com - The research was conducted in Pembroke, North Carolina, and other locations from Florida to Pennsylvania.

WHEN:

Earth.com - The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in 2026.

WHY:

Earth.com - The coronas produce hydroxyl radicals that help clean pollutants from the atmosphere.

Earth.com - The research suggests that forests might be cleaning themselves during storms in ways previously unaccounted for.

HOW:

Earth.com - The researchers built a special instrument mounted on a research vehicle that included a telescope paired with a UV camera to detect faint UV light.

Earth.com - The camera was designed to detect UV light in the range of 255 to 273 nanometers, which is not normally visible due to the ozone layer.

(UPDATED April 21, 2026 15:24 UTC)

A team from Penn State, led by P. J. McFarland, has conducted groundbreaking research that captured electrical glows known as "corona discharges" from treetops during thunderstorms in locations ranging from Pembroke, North Carolina, to Florida and Pennsylvania. The researchers recorded hundreds of tiny ultraviolet flashes from trees, each producing roughly one microamp of current, suggesting that forests may be cleaning themselves during storms by generating hydroxyl radicals that help remove pollutants from the atmosphere. Their findings, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in 2026, were made possible by a specially designed instrument that combined a telescope with a UV camera to detect faint ultraviolet light typically obscured by the ozone layer.