mysterious blue flashes

[nematode]

In the early hour of Saturday morning (around 00:30 27/11/2010) I was just about to go to bed and found myself looking out my living room window.  Some blue flashes caught my eye like a camera flash.  There were two flashes in quick succession like a flicker and they were an unmistakable deep blue colour.  They appeared to be as bright as fireworks being set off about 5 miles away. They came from the horizon in a direction exactly south.  My position is just southsoutheast(ish) of Ballymena.

Yesterday a friend asked me what the blue flashes were that he saw on Friday night /Saturday morning.  He described the same two flashes at the same time.  Except for him they were quite bright and lit up quite an area of the sky.  Again, they were observed on the horizon.  For him they were form the southeast. He is near Katesbridge. He expected thunder but heard nothing.  And he was surprised by the deep blue colour of the flashes.

My thinking is that it was lightning.  It could have been high up in the Mournes.  Is it possible that the clear high pressure air meant that I could see the lightning from Ballymena?  Did anybody else see this?  Did anybody near the Mournes hear anything?

[LandyLiam]

sounds, i mean looks  like lightning, light can travel a long way (i.e. the stars) but sound doesn't go that far (i.e. my wife says i can't hear her from the other side of the room)

[Dowser]

Something hitting powerlines (tree/plastic balloon etc) could cause an extensive blue flash - worth checking if there was any power cuts in the area. If not, lightning (without the storm/rain) sounds the most likely or sheet lightning (which occurs when lightning flashes are obscured by clouds although this is usually white)

I personally think it would have been lightening although it could have been Santa making an early flyby 

[nematode]

I just spoke to a colleague who saw blue lightning on the same night but in the very early hours (around 3am).  She heard thunder with it and remarked on the deep blue colour.  The colour is most likely due to everywhere on the ground being so snow covered.  The coolest thing is the distance over which both my friend and I saw the same lightning.  The reflection off the ground and the high pressure air must have been the reason for the distance.

[Dowser]

Oh... and on the Travis Album, The Man Who, there is a hidden track which kicks in about 3 minutes after the end of the last track called "Blue Flashing Light" Also quite mysterious  

[suspectmonkey]

There were lightning storms forecast so it seems the most logical explanation.

Lightning storms over snow covered mountains... now that would make for an interesting photograph!

PS: Love the slight change to the avatar Liam