Friday Nov 18, Thunder Bay Ontario.

This is gonna be a lengthy one so please bear with me.

A lot of you know me on here. I like to think of myself as being level headed, I can be humorous and like to joke around, but I always try to find a logical explanation for things. But i dont know what the heck can be the rational reasoning behind last night.

Last night we had one heck of a snow storm. The winds were easily over 80 km/hr. Visibility was zero due to snow and sleet, during wind gusts.
We live out in the country side, about 10 minutes outside of town. Earlier in the day at around 3 pm we went to town to pick up our kids from school. The weather was horrible already, but we had to go into town to grab the kids.
Carefully we drove and navigated the ice covered streets, picked up the kids, stopped for an early dinner and decided to hit up a walmart to grab a few things before heading back home.
Its about 7pm at this time. The weather seemed much worse. The roads in the city were slippery but still navigable.
As soon as we got onto the country road, it was apparent that this storm was hitting up full force. It was pitch black out asides from my cars headlights.
It was stupid to be outside in this storm, so I drove slow with my hazards on. At times we had to stop dead in road due to total white outs.
About 1 km up the road we notice that no houses had any lights on.
We went around a corner and in the middle of the road is tree bits everywhere and to the immediate right is a tree on the power lines.

After about 30 minutes, we made the usual 10 minute drive home. Sure enough no lights on.
I pointed the car towards the house and instructed the family to each grab a bag and bring it to the house.
We have been using the back door due to reno's in the front.

So the wife and 3 kids made their way to the back of the house with the aid of my high-beams in the drive way.
Once they were in, my wife flashed the cell phone through the bay window in the front, signaling they are in. I turned off the car and made my way to the house. Tree branches were breaking due to the high winds. As mentioned it was pitch black outside.
I pressed the remote car lock on and off so the car lights would flash, providing some illumination while I made my way through the snow drifts and into the house.
Once inside, it was apparent the hydro had been out for awhile. It was about 15 degrees Celsius in the house.
Thankfully we have a wood stove also.

We had the kids sit on the couch with a flash light. The wife lit a few candles in the living room and grabbed the dog to bring him outside for a pee, and I grabbed the wood bucket to go to the shed to get a fire started in the woodstove.
I used the cell phone flash light app to find my way to the wood shed, the wife stood in the middle of the back yard with the dog while he did his thing.

As im in the shed grabbing wood and filling the bucket I faintly hear my wife scream over the howling wind " WTF "
At first I thought she was yelling because she fell over or something, then she screamed my name.
I came out of the shed and she started screaming "Did you see that, did you effin see that"

I had no idea what she was talking about, I started making my way over to her. The snow blue so hard that I lost visibility of her for a brief moment and I dropped the cell phone in the snow. I took the 10 steps to get to her and she was screaming "The sky just lit up blue above the house, the ground, everything turned blue then white."
I looked to the back window of the house and the kids were screaming. We ran into the house.

The kids were crying and screaming "what was that, what happened" They were freaking out.
They said something was outside our window, and everything in the house turned blue.

I was dumbfounded, I didnt know what to think because I didnt see anything.
My wife and kids were going ape spit.
Then the only way i can explain it, it was like a light came through the window and instantly flashed from red to green than nothing.

I was more confused than anything and said WTF just happened I said out loud.
My 12,9 and 8 year old were all crying, screaming I want to go, my wife was flipping out and I just stood there, almost in disbelief.

I started asking my wife what did the blue light look like, describe it. Could it have been someone with a flare, or a roman candle, ect.

My wife yelled to me, " I dont know what it was, but the first thing i thought was a UFO and it was the end of the world."
This knocked me back. My wife makes fun of me for being on this site, she dismisses anything ufo or alien related.
She is not a believer what so ever and makes fun of me for being so.

I tried calming everyone down and said it must have been lightening, or something caused by the storm. ( I personally have never seen lightening in a snow storm. But I have seen a lot of snow storms living in Northern Canada. Then I said it must have been a transformer blowing up.
I asked my 12 year old, what exactly did you see.
She was crying and holding on to me saying a bright blue light was at the window, the house turned blue then white. The candles got really big and the cats freaked out.
Just as she said it, the room went bright from another window on the opposite side of the house. We all turned towards the window, but it was gone.
Again every one was freaking out. I tried to calm them all and said sit on the couch, ill get a fire going quick.
My wife stood in front of the big bay window, watching to see if it happened again.
I think about 10 minutes went by. The fire was going, then my wife said, There it is again, out over the trees.
I stood up and got to the window to take a look. I couldnt see a thing. She said she knew it was over the trees because the flash lit up the sky and the tree line. All I could see was total darkness.

I dont know how long we stood there watching, but suddenly i snapped out of it and looked around.
My living room was filled with smoke.
I panicked and yelled for everyone to get to the back of the house.
The wife and kids went to the back door. I opened the wood stove door and messed around with the fire and told the wife to crack the back door to let the smoke out.

I had everything under control, after about 5 minutes with the door open the smoke was cleared.
We all sat on the couch, trying to get warm.
The laptop had juice in it so I put on a movie to watch while we waited for the hydro to come back on.
After calling the hydro company they told us that it wouldn't be restored till 6pm tomorrow (today)
Great, its going to be one hell of a cold night.
The kids slept in the living room, while the wife and I slept in our bedroom. I set my alarm on my ipad to go off every couple of hours so I could keep the fire going.
We kept watch out the windows seeing if it happened again - but it didnt.

To be continued

a reply to: Macenroe82



I didnt even think of trying to record everything. I was more concerned with what was happening than to be filming everything. It really didnt even come to my mind. I was just focused on trying to figure out what was happening.

Labeled: Window location. There are 2 windows in the living room facing the road. #1: our big bay window. and a smaller window to the side of the living room. The smaller window is where our 12 year old seen the light coming from.
2: Is the location behind the house of the new wood shed I was in when the first flash happened.
3: Is where my wife was standing when the first blue light was seen.


Another view from higher up

a reply to: Macenroe82

Sounds like one hell of a night. Hope everyone made it through ok. Looking at the photo, there doesnt appear to be anything around you that would generate that strong of a light. Any snow plow go by, doubt that would explain the light being blue tho.

Really can't say for sure, but leaning towards lightening. Here in Michigan we had our first snow today. Lots of thunder, gusty winds, and yes, lightning too. Honestly, I can't recall such from the past...but we had 70 degree high temp yesterday...so obviously, the high and low pressures climaxed in a thunderstorm that produced falling snow and lightening.

Did you have warmer then normal temps in Ontario too, right before this storm blew in?

Sorry your kids & Missus were scared.
Have no clue either except for lightening,but your wife seems to know what she saw and it doesn't seem like it.

Thanks for bringing this to us!

Almost forgot, please tell your wife I have never read a report of a UFO in a blinding snowstorm, so there's that at least?

Then I said it must have been a transformer blowing up.

That would explain the blue light and often multiple Transformers on a line can go. You mentioned a storm which is usually what causes Transformers to blow.

I've been next to one that went and they put out brilliant bright blue light when they go and if there is dust or moisture in the air you can have a corona shoot down a line. Any salt in the air where you are?

a reply to: Macenroe82

Do those power lines that had the tree across them run near your house?

If the storm knocked branches or (you said a tree) into them, they would ground out, tripping breakers. The power company will try and clear the short by resetting the breakers, producing huge arcs (that appear blue and white). If after a couple tries they don't succeed, they will be down until the storm clears and they can get to the location during the day.

Sorry I'm not using the right terms, someone els can explain it better maybe.

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

Nope no snow plows come up here.
Its unorganized township here outside of city limits. So we dont get any snow plows or salt trucks up this way.

Soooo, you live in a place called....Thunder Bay....but you didnt think that a huge blue/white flash you saw, would have been Lightening?

Apparently, there is thunder and lightening, even during snow storms......so Ive read and seen on the Tube.

Do you really think "Aliens" would visit your spot on Earth, during a snow storm? Ummm.
I think it might upset their vectoring space vortex Modulator....

a reply to: Blaine91555

No. We are outside of thunder bay ontario canada.

Would a transformer make any noise? Because given how bright the lights were, we would have heard something I would assume. Mind you the wind was howling extremely hard.

But the hydro company wasnt on our road today either. we were here all day trying to warm the house up.

I wonder could have been the strange phenomenon termed thundersnow www.youtube.com... I have expieriencedthis type of silent massive blue arc welding type light myself

a reply to: intrptr

On a normal day, its a 10 minute drive from our house to the area where the line was down

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Macenroe82

Do those power lines that had the tree across them run near your house?

If the storm knocked branches or (you said a tree) into them, they would ground out, tripping breakers. The power company will try and clear the short by resetting the breakers, producing huge arcs (that appear blue and white). If after a couple tries they don't succeed, they will be down until the storm clears and they can get to the location during the day.

Sorry I'm not using the right terms, someone els can explain it better maybe.

Good idea! Though, unless he is directly on a main thoroughfare, the power won't be worked on until a day or two. Cities and main streets often are 1st. Country townships have to wait. I am still leaning towards lightening. With the clouds and blowing snow, I imagine it would look pretty freaky at night due to all of the reflective surfaces in the air!

stepping away for a shower. Hot water tank finally has hot water now!

a reply to: Macenroe82
Interesting story. Could it have been a copter with all the wind and snow maybe it was muffled and it was out checking on damage with high powered lights?

Let us know if you find out anything.

a reply to: Macenroe82

Yes it does, but that would depend on how close it was. Being you are near a bay, it's entirely possible you also have some salt content in the air which is perfect conditions for corona's. You have a couple of Transformers go and enough salt content in the air to have corona's run down a line and it could explain what happened. Hard to say.

a reply to: astra001uk

This is a definite possibility. However, it would depend on how long the blue light was shining through the window. A few seconds, ok, it could be this lightning. If it was like 10 seconds or more, and it was constant, then it most likely was something else. Also, I am assuming thunder would be heard fairly loudly afterward.

originally posted by: astra001uk
I wonder could have been the strange phenomenon termed thundersnow www.youtube.com... I have expieriencedthis type of silent massive blue arc welding type light myself

You are correct. Good call. Thundersnow produces that exact same effect at ground level.

a reply to: Macenroe82

What an evening. Glad the fam is okay. How was the dog acting? When we have a severe weather warnings, I notice the pets get skittish even before it arrives. I remember thunder snow during a storm about 20 years ago. Wasn't making sense to me seeing the lightening then hearing the thunder during near-blizzard conditions. I assume you would have heard the thunder.

The only blinding blue during a storm I recall is when lightening struck a tree about 15 feet from me. My entire peripheral vision to my left turned blue-white before the strike. Deafening noise was part of that experience.

What's missing from your experience as relayed is any mention of hearing noise, except howling wind. Plenty of YouTube videos of transformer blow-outs. Maybe watching a few you'll get a feel for whether that was your family's experience, too.

If the power was already out way down the road, then there wouldn't be a transformer blowing near the home to be able to see. If it was lightning that powerful over the home there would have been some big thunder, and a boom from a transformer would also be heard. It just could be something else mysterious, although it appears no one was molested in any manner? Some of the past highly strange UFO cases happen to people in places not highly inhabited, but since no one was hurt.. Hopefully you won't have a repeat of this. Sounds like the kids and family got a pretty bad scare.