NOAA released information that Elves and Sprites just might be real this Halloween! 👻

NOAA

In the spirit of spooky season, we are here to tell you that elves and sprites are REAL!

Seriously though, elves, sprites, and blue jets are the most common types of transient luminous events, aka atmospheric lightning!

Large thunderstorms are capable of producing electrical phenomena called transient luminous events (TLEs) that occur high in the atmosphere.

Sprites can extend up to 60 miles from the top of a thundercloud. Sprites are mostly red and are described as resembling jellyfish, carrots, or column's.

Elves are rapidly expanding disk-shaped regions of glowing that can be up to 300 miles across. They last less than a thousandth of a second, and occur above areas of active cloud-to-ground lightning.

Blue jets emerge from the top of the thundercloud and extend up in narrow cones fanning out and disappearing at heights of 25-35 miles, lasting only fractions of a second.