A lightning strike hit a house in Southern California Tuesday, startling a mom and her two children who were standing just feet away.

Tiffanie Buckner was recording the lightning as storms were rolling in, as she and her children were about to go inside, she told Storyful.

Her 6-year-old daughter, Penelope, was standing in front of the camera the moment a large lightning bolt hit a home in the cul-de-sac behind her. 

Immediately, Penelope, Buckner and Buckner’s son all screamed and ran toward the camera. 

“It was different than the normal lightning we receive that just lights up the sky,” Buckner told Storyful. 

She said she was recording the video to show her mom and husband.

“The sound was so loud and immediate that it made us all jump and sent the kids in running,” she said.

Buckner said despite the scare, Penelope wasn’t afraid for long, and asked to go back outside once the rain started. 

“Of course, the answer was no,” Buckner said. “But kids were OK and loved the storm and have an amazing story to tell.”

Thunderstorms are rare in Southern California, with the area averaging less than 10 days a year with reported lightning. 

The National Weather Service office in Los Angeles warned that thunderstorms were likely to hit southern California on Tuesday, bringing with them small hail, strong winds, lightning, and intense but short-lived rainfall.