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Photos: Skydiver Sean MacCormac 'Surfs' on Thunderstorm Clouds

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1, 2, 3... jump!

Sean MacCormac Skydives Through Thunderstorm

(Image credit: Craig O'Brien/Red Bull Content Pool)

Skydiver Sean MacCormac recently took to the Florida skies to "surf" on thunderstorm clouds. The daredevil jumped from more than 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) to dive through thick clouds and stormy conditions over central Florida. [Read full story about MacCormac's daring skydive]

Shredding the clouds

Cloud Surfing

(Image credit: Jon DeVore/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac "surfs" clouds during an outing on July 5, 2016.

Summer storms

Sean MacCormac Sky Surfing

(Image credit: Craig O'Brien/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac described the daring feat as intense, scary, unique and spiritual.

MacCormac is shown here diving through a storm cloud on July 8, 2016, over Clewiston, Florida.

Long way down

Sean MacCormac Skydiving Feat

(Image credit: Craig O'Brien/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac jumped from a plane flying at an elevation of about 10,500 feet (3,200 meters) and reached speeds of 130 miles per hour (209 km/h) during the epic skydive.

Thick clouds

Surfing Clouds over Florida

(Image credit: Jon DeVore/Red Bull Content Pool)

Some of the potential dangers include downdrafts (downward-moving air currents), lightning strikes and updrafts, which can catch a skydiver's parachute and pull the person into the storm. [Read full story about MacCormac's daring skydive]

Touchdown

Sean MacCormac Lands

(Image credit: Craig O'Brien/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac lands after attempting to skydive through a thunderstorm on July 6, 2016.

Dancing on clouds

MacCormac Surfs on Storm Clouds

(Image credit: Craig O'Brien/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac's daring dives offer glimpses of how thunderstorms unfold in the sky.

Pro skysurfer

Sky-Surfing Through Storms

(Image credit: Jon DeVore/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac is a multiple-time U.S. National Champion, X Games medalist and a veteran of skysurfing. [Read full story about MacCormac's daring skydive]

Storm's a-brewin'

Florida Lightning Storm

(Image credit: Robert Snow/Red Bull Content Pool)

A lightning storm, seen from the airplane hangar during the Storm’s Edge project in Clewiston, Florida, on July 7, 2016.

No fear

Sky Surfing

(Image credit: Craig O'Brien/Red Bull Content Pool)

MacCormac "surfs" along the edge of a storm on July 5, 2016.

Safe landing

Sean MacCormac Lands in Florida

(Image credit: Robert Snow/Red Bull Content Pool)

Skydiver Sean Maccormac swoops in to land in Clewiston, Florida, on July 8, 2016. [Read full story about MacCormac's daring skydive]

Denise Chow
Denise Chow
Live Science Contributor

Denise Chow was the assistant managing editor at Live Science before moving to NBC News as a science reporter, where she focuses on general science and climate change. Before joining the Live Science team in 2013, she spent two years as a staff writer for Space.com, writing about rocket launches and covering NASA's final three space shuttle missions. A Canadian transplant, Denise has a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, and a master's degree in journalism from New York University.