Residents in West Texas noticed mysterious glowing red lights in the skies over Midland Tuesday night.

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People started calling into news stations reporting the unusual occurrence.

Turns out the odd lights were an unusual weather phenomenon.

Light from gas flares in the area refracted off ice crystals in the clouds causing the weird red lights, according to the National Weather Service in Midland.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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