Over 7.6 million people have "liked" The Weather Channel's Facebook page, which, as far as brand accomplishments go, isn't bad. But all those millions aren't coming for a daily forecast, they're coming for hot viral content, which The Weather Channel serves up a few times an hour, frequently in the form of short videos, some of which are dubbed "Viral Weather."
Nature, you see, is the original viral hit maker.
Earlier today they posted the video you see above, featuring a tree that began burning from the inside after being struck by lightning in St. Louis. The video was shot on Wednesday, according to the station.
The Weather Channel also calls the tree "totally eerie," a fair description given that the tree was located in a cemetery, in addition to, on the video, the audible, reasonably heavy wheezing of the videographer.
Perhaps, though, whoever was taking the video simply knew then what The Weather Channel picked up on later: they just might have a viral hit on their hands.