The French storm chaser, Serge Zaka, has won the prize for the most beautiful weather photo of the year 2021.
After 16 years of storm chasing, 30-year-old Frenchman Serge Zaka won the public award for the most beautiful weather photo of the year 2021 on Saturday. Awarded by the Royal Meteorological Society and AccuWeather, the photo taken on August 4, 2020, during an outing to Théoule-sur-Mer, was recognized in London.
The professional jury also awarded him third place.
The storm captured at 3 a.m. over the Bay of Cannes had all the elements to make a beautiful photo.
“It’s an isolated storm, at sea, under the stars, and lit by the full moon. On top of that, it’s an extra-cloud lightning bolt. These are rare lightning strikes that emerge at altitude from the storm and strike outside the storm. So there are no precipitation to mask the branches.”
More motivated than ever, Serge Zaka plans to head to America to capture more powerful storms.