SAN ANTONIO – Residents of the Alamo City watched a natural light show on display during Sunday night’s storms, but one man caught a glimpse of something special.
As storms moved across South Texas — bringing severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings to the area — Robert Rubio had his camera ready at a downtown condo.
Filming the city’s tallest structure at just the right moment, Rubio captured lightning striking the antenna atop the 750-foot Tower of the Americas.
“It was awesome,” Rubio said on Twitter Monday morning, hours after he had shared his footage on the social media platform.
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His post garnered more than 100 retweets and several adoring reactions.
Pardon my excitement. #lightningstrike #toweroftheamericas #ewxspotter #downtownSA #txwx #SanAntonio @NWSSanAntonio @ChrisSuchanWOAI pic.twitter.com/3E1481whp3
— Robert Rubio (@rdrubio) May 25, 2020
Rubio said he was shooting from the Vidorra Condos, just a few blocks across Interstate 37 from the Tower of the Americas.
“I’m a weather nerd and knew it would be a good opportunity to snap some (weather) shots,” Rubio said.
The fixture of San Antonio’s skyline was the tallest observation tower in the United States when it was built in 1968, and remained so until the late 1990s. Now, it serves as a popular tourist attraction for those who live and visit the Alamo City, particularly during July 4 and New Year’s Eve fireworks.
And, in this case, the subject of beautiful weather photography.
More storms are in the forecast for late Memorial Day. Stay up to date with the latest alerts and radar from KSAT’s weather team.
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