Transmission Lines involved for that much sustained flash
Depends
A feeder line into a Transmission Substation usually just an isolated issue
But very spectacular light show
Residential stuff on the Distribution lines typically quick and dirty
Plus modern reclosers prevent surge cascades
Those are on distribution lines/poles
Much lower voltage post step-down
Nasty but not like what we've seen from long distance already in pics
It's the high voltage transmission lines in this instance
The low clouds are just perfect for reflectivity in this case as well
Light show from a distance would have been much lamer without them
>unless the power was still being fed
Which can happen with the transmission grid
The distribution grid is what has all the circuit breaking features
It's not automatically spoopy because transmission line/feeder/substation issues are spectacular especially from a distance with reflective cloud cover
But if it shut down LaGuardia in the process then it's certainly spoopy for that reason