Mysterious red flashes appear above Almeria and Valencia

Something very unusual was caught on camera above Spain during the early hours of Thursday, September 10, when rare red flashes appeared high above thunderstorms in the Mediterranean.

Known as red sprites, these fleeting electrical events were photographed from both the Almeria coast and Ayora in Valencia, giving skywatchers a remarkable glimpse of activity taking place high above ordinary storm clouds.

AEMET, Spain’s state meteorological agency, shared images captured from the Ayora observatory, while storm chaser David Mancebo also recorded the phenomenon from the Almeria coastline. Images from Ayora were taken at around 2.19am and 2.52am as cameras pointed south towards the Mediterranean. What makes the event particularly unusual is that neither location needed to be directly underneath the storm.

What are red sprites?

Red sprites are enormous electrical discharges that occur high in Earth’s atmosphere above powerful thunderstorms. AEMET describes them as large-scale electrical discharges produced at altitudes of roughly 50 to 90 kilometres above the ground, far above the clouds where normal lightning takes place.

NASA also classifies sprites as Transient Luminous Events, or TLEs. They are generally associated with powerful lightning strikes and can take on strange shapes, including branching structures that look rather like giant jellyfish. Their appearance is incredibly brief. A sprite can last for only a few milliseconds, making it almost impossible to spot with the naked eye.

Resumen de los rayos duendes. Desde Ayora. @AEMET_Esp @AEMET_CValencia @Stormyalert @StormChasersSP @ecazatormentas @apuntoratge @ElTiempo_tve @ElTiempoes @Valencia_WX @roberto_brasero @tiempobrasero pic.twitter.com/7QQaG00gbo

— Observatorio 🔭🔭 en Ayora. (@meteoayora) September 11, 2026

High-quality cameras, dark skies and careful observation therefore give photographers a much better chance of recording one.

Lightning more than 200 kilometres away

AEMET’s analysis of the Valencia images found that powerful lightning over the Mediterranean was responsible for the sprites seen from Ayora. One particularly strong positive lightning strike was recorded around 220 kilometres south of Ayora, hitting the sea at approximately 2.52am local time. The strike reached an intensity of around +129.2 kiloamps and is thought to have triggered some of the sprites photographed shortly afterwards.

Storm chaser David Mancebo reported recording around 14 sprites during the same episode from the Almeria coastline. Some could be seen above the Mediterranean as the storm system moved away from the Spanish coast.

Could you see a red sprite from Spain?

Seeing one is certainly possible, although spotting a sprite requires a fair bit of luck. NASA’s citizen science project, Spritacular, encourages photographers to look towards distant thunderstorms from locations with dark, clear skies. The project says observers should generally be positioned around 60 to 250 miles from a storm, giving them a clear view above the clouds.

So, next time a powerful Mediterranean storm is rumbling on the horizon, there could be something else happening far above it. For a fraction of a second, the sky above the storm could light up red.