Each bright, jagged strike and resultant astonishing flash looks like a special effect you'd see on the big screen - but this footage of a storm is 100% real.

This stunning lightning was captured on film by scientists testing out a new high-speed camera, and the detail of nature's might it's recorded is breathtaking.

The lightning stretches towards the ground before enveloping the sky in an explosive flash, before it resets and more fingers creep out of the clouds.

Professor Ningyu Liu, at the Geospace Physics Laboratory, taped the beautiful lightning show from a recent storm in Florida at 7,000 frames per second.

Read more: Huge lightning bolt splits tree in two

The playback speed is 700 frames per second.

Lightning Storm Recorded at 7000 Frames Per Second
The storms were recorded on a high speed camera at 7000 frames per second

It's hoped the camera will help research into jets, gigantic jets and starters projecting upwards from thunderstorms in the upper atmosphere, reports GizMag.