20 most spectacular photos from Monday night's lightning show

Hardik Desai (@eachplacearhaposdy) photographed the lightning storm from their balcony in San Francisco. Hardik Desai (@eachplacearhaposdy) photographed the lightning storm from their balcony in San Francisco. Photo: Instagram / Eachplacearhaposdy Photo: Instagram / Eachplacearhaposdy Image 1 of / 102 Caption Close 20 most spectacular photos from Monday night's lightning show 1 / 102 Back to Gallery

The show was far more spectacular and dramatic than anything 4th of July fireworks have ever offered around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lightning strikes lit up the sky as a series of thunderstorms roared through the area.

The National Weather Service said Tuesday morning that 1,200 cloud-to-ground strikes and 5,800 in-cloud strikes were recorded in the Bay Area for a total of 7,000 flashes.

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Social media exploded with images and we've pulled together what we think are the 20 best. You can email your photos to agraff@sfgate.com with the subject line Bay Area lightning.