Incredible lightning strikes (PHOTOS)

A look at some of the most stunning photographs of lightning strikes from around the world in 2011.

1. An amazing capture of lightning striking the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada on August 24, 2011.

Photographer Mike Tan took the shot from nearby Polson Pier: "It was a bit frightening at times, seeing that the strikes were not more than 5km away. But then the photographer forgets danger, just to get 'the shot.'"

(Photo courtesy of mike.tan © All rights reserved 2011)

2. Photographer Chris Kotsiopoulos explains how he captured this beautiful photograph of lightning bolts in Greece: "An image sequence containing 70 lightning shots, taken on Ikaría island, Greece, during a severe thunderstorm that took place June 16, 2011. In order to make the sequence, I set the camera to a tripod taking 20-second shots. After 83 minutes I ended up with this wall of lightning!"(Photo courtesy of Chris Kotsiopoulos/National Geographic Your Shot)

 
3. Lightning flashes over the Las Vegas Strip during a thunderstorm early on September 13, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
 

4. A lightning bolt strikes near the Dubuque County Fair Wednesday night, July 27, 2011 during a storm in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/The Telegraph Herald, Dave Kettering) 

5. Lightning strikes over the Puyehue volcano, over 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile, June 6, 2011.  

 (AP Photo/Francisco Negroni, Agencia Uno) 

6. A lightning bolt strikes over South Shore, Illinois.

(Photo courtesy of reallyboring © All rights reserved 2011)

 

7. An incredible photo of lightning bolts striking near Lake Mountain, Utah.
(Photo courtesy of houstonryan © All rights reserved 2011)
 

 

8. Lightning flashes over downtown Las Vegas in September 2011.
AFP Photo/Ethan Miller)
 

 

9. Huge lightning strikes in Camp Verde, Arizona.
(Photo courtesy of DownTheRoad_AZ © All rights reserved 2011)
 

 

10. Lightning strikes behind the Mandalay Bay (L) and the Luxor hotel casinos as a thunderstorm passes through Las Vegas, Nevada early in the morning of September 11, 2011.