Expert from Italy's National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology, a volcano expert, said Friday that volcanic storms like this are very rare. However they can occur in extremely violent eruptions or near the ocean.
Boris Behnke (a volcanologist) told The Associated Press that volcanic lighting was seen once over Etna in 2021 and again in 2015.

It didn't cause any serious damage, as it erupted just before midnight on Thursday. It did however shoot ash 6 miles above sea level.

Etna is Europe's most active volcano, and its eruptions don't come often. It is one of three active volcanoes in Italy.

Etna was erupted in June and released ash, orange lava and other substances into the atmosphere. It erupted for only a few minutes and caused dust to fall on nearby villages. Also in October, Etna erupted sending a huge plume of ash above the volcano.