P for Paris: Ribbon of lightning turns the Eiffel Tower into a letter
These spectacular pictures show the moment a bolt of lightning hit the Eiffel Tower in a freak lightning storm - forming a perfect letter P.
The dramatic images show that a sudden shift in weather in the City of Light turned the sky deep purple.
The aggressive storm lasted just ten minutes, with electric lighting bolts illuminating the cloudy Parisian skyline.
The letter P is formed by a curved bolt of lightning, which semi-circled around the Eiffel Tower during a spectacular thunderstorm
The Parisian skyline is a deep purple for the duration of the short but severe storm. The freak lightning, which was a coppery-pink colour stood out against the moody background
A single coppery-pink ribbon of lightning curved around the city's iconic Eiffel Tower, in a semi-circle.
Wind and rain-battered Parisians may have missed the uncanny moment a bolt of lightning curled around the Eiffel Tower and formed the letter P as they sheltered from the powerful weather.
The freak weather display was over within minutes.
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Amateur snapper Bertrand Kulik said these scenes were some of the strangest he had witnessed. He regularly photographs remarkable nature events and dramatic weather.
Mr Kulik said: 'The storm was not announced in the weather forecast over Paris but I felt that a storm was brewing by the movement of the wind and the arrival of dark clouds.
'I opened my window and a few minutes later loads of lightning appeared - it was absolutely fantastic.'
The sky lightens as the storm passes. Sun streams down on the city but a bolt of lightning lingers overhead
Once the freak weather passes, an unusual mammatus cloud pattern forms. They usually occur in areas of frequent storms or tornados
Once the storm passed, an unusual mammatus cloud pattern formed overhead. The cloud formations are only associated with the most severe thunderstorms.
Mammatus clouds often appear in America's Midwest, where tornados and severe storms are common.
The clumping of clouds follow intense storms and are used as warning signs to pilots to avoid flying near them.
Mr Kulik said: 'As soon as the storm passed everything was pure, the rain was strong but when it stopped it was very clear.
'Then some amazing mammatus clouds appeared over Paris - that's quite unusual.'
