The chances of being struck by lightning in a lifetime are quite slim, one in one million according to the National Weather Service, but the San Francisco Bay Bridge defied odds Thursday night during an intense storm captured in photos.

Photographer Phil McGrew snapped photos of the storm, according to The Daily Mail, showing the Bay Bridge being struck by not one, not two, but nine bolts of lightning.

McGrew, 49, shot the photos of the storm from his apartment window and was electrified at the images.

When the thunder and lightning started last night, I thought I must get a picture of the lightning against the bridge, McGrew told the Daily Mail. My apartment looks out over Bay Bridge and I knew it would make a good shot if I could get it.

McGrew, who took up photography as a hobby two years ago, certainly did take a shot of a lifetime. Using his camera on long exposure for 20 seconds, he captured nine bolts of lightning striking the Bay Bridge.

When I looked at my camera, I had a few that were just dark, and then some were very bright where I had just missed the strikes. Then I saw this one, it was incredible, McGrew said of the photo. You can count the strikes, the Bay Bridge has four distinct towers and you can see the lightning hitting each tower.

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