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A rare storm turned the South Dakota skies green. Here’s why

And no, this incredible green sky wasn't a scene out of "The Wizard of Oz."

You certainly don't see something like this every day.

South Dakota residents were in for quite the surprise this week when a storm turned the sky an incredible shade of green.

As it turns out, the rare phenomenon resulted from a "derecho" storm. The sky turned green when the blue light from the rain clouds combined with the red and yellow light from a sunset.

NBC meteorologist Bill Karins, who is currently filling in for Al Roker, broke things down for viewers.

"The derecho is a long distance thunder storm. It has to travel like 450 miles. So that is something that is related to this," Karins explained. "But it also has to do with hail in the storm, too."

Karins went on to offer some sage advice for anyone who ever comes across such a storm.

"One of the rules is if you’re ever out storm chasing or tornado chasing or if you’re out there in the plains and you see a big storm with green skies, that means it has a lot of hail in it. And that means do not drive into that storm, because your car could be ruined," he advised.

Still, if you were lucky enough to witness the stunning skies from the comfort of your own home, it must have been fascinating.

"The sunset and everything played with the lighting too and some people said it was the most incredible thing they've ever seen," Karins said.

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