This past weekend, Hurricane Matthew transformed into a Category 5 storm that also produced an unusual, colorful sky despite this intense weather disturbance. This rare phenomenon is called lightning sprites. Vibrant colors were seen dancing during the stormy skies from 400 miles off southwestern Puerto Rico.

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Lightning sprites may appear like the Northern Lights (or the Aurora Borealis) seen in the upper northern hemisphere in Alaska and parts of Canada. Evanescent flashes of brilliant reddish hues were observed above the storm clouds.

These lightning sprites are caused by electrical bursts reaching our atmosphere's barrier from space, some 50 miles above the surface of the planet. They are also known as "upward lighting" or "cloud to stratospheric lightning." NASA astronauts have captured lightning sprites from the space station.

However, these sprites are rarely documented since they only last about 10 milliseconds on average and are often blocked by cloud formations. This event is so rare that many sky watchers and astronomers considered it a myth until a pilot captured a photograph of this shortlived phenomenon in 1989.

Sprites are related to regular lightning, as they are generated when electricity shoots out upwards to the cloud instead of striking the ground. Lightning sprites are often formed during powerful thunderstorms when there is a massive amount of electricity circulating the clouds. However, the exact mechanism of how lightning sprites form is still unclear.

To see this rare event with the naked eye, find a safe, sheltered spot far away from the light pollution of the city as streetlights and haze can obscure viewing. These sprites will occur on top of a thundercloud during the peak of a storm on an average of every 10 minutes.