Horrifying footage shows what happens when lightning strikes an active volcano

When Mother Nature wants to take charge there's nothing you can do but sit back and hope for the best.

This was particularly the case with a viral video circulating around social media which shows the very moment molten lava meets lightning.

The two forces collide to make it look like The Undertaker returning to the WWE for the 100th time - and we're all for it.

Taking to TikTok, the short clip shows orangey-red lava spilling from the top of the volcano and is hot enough to melt through steel by the way.

Then, out of nowhere, a lightening bolt appears to slash into the lava to create an incredible visual, which is hard to put into words.

But the idea that it's the lava itself which reacts with the lightening isn't exactly true.

So, when a volcano erupts it releases ash, gas, and lava into the air.

And the way it works is that the collision and friction between the volcanic particles create static electricity, which, under the right conditions, generates lightning within the volcanic plume.

This volcanic lightning is sometimes referred to as a 'dirty thunderstorm' and it only ever happens in the atmosphere above the erupting volcano.

The lava itself does not cause lightning but contributes to the overall conditions that make this event possible.

Viewers were amazed by the footage, but equally half-expected Cars character Lightning McQueen to pop out as a visual, as he so often does on social media.

"Was I the only one thinking I was going to see Lightning McQueen this was better," one person commented.

"So clearly I’ve got some trust issues, because I was expecting being tricked by another Lightning McQueen video.. I’m so happy that this time it was a real one," a second penned.

As a third wrote: "A lifetime of video games has taught me one thing! There is a boss battle going on that mountain top!"

Another added: "Wow... once in a lifetime captured right there... you are truly blessed to have captured this."

Now, as seen in other videos on social media, this event recently took place at the Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala.

The volcano has erupted in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023, as locals watched on from the capital, Guatemala City, 44km (27 miles) south-west of Fuego’s summit.

"Similarly (to a thunderstorm), in a volcanic eruption cloud, there are small particles of volcanic material colliding with one another at high speeds, and these collisions can result in separation of charges in the volcanic cloud that result in lightning," said scientists at the University of Hawaii's Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes.