My mother used to tell me not to play outside when it was about to storm. I thought that was unnecessary paranoia, but a new video shows why that's great advice. New video shows the moment that lightning made a tree explode.

Here's how they described how lightning interrupted their family vacation:

My son and my wife were just inside the house. We were on vacation for the week at our family lake house. It has been in our family for 61 years. Instantly, there a smell of burnt pine after the strike. The tree split in half. The part that fell thankfully didn’t harm anyone but did damage a neighbors shed.

Get our free mobile app

It's a shocking video - literally. Seriously behold the power of fire from the sky.

What kind of power did we just witness? The National Weather Service shares some startling numbers of how much power a bolt of lightning can cause:

A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps

They state that's enough electricity to keep a light florescent bulb in a typical home lit up for a year.

The person that captured the video was fortunate that the lightning chose the tree and not them. (Editor's Note - lightning does not really make decisions)

TIPS: Here's how you can prepare for power outages

KEEP READING: What to do after a tornado strikes

More From 100.9 The Eagle, The Tri-States' Classic Rock Station