A breathtaking time-lapse video shows a rare weather phenomenon—a wet microburst—unleashing a dramatic downpour over Austria’s Lake Millstatt, captured by amateur filmmaker Peter Maier.
27-year-old Peter Maier from Carinthia, Switzerland, witnessed and recorded a jaw-dropping meteorological event while vacationing near Lake Millstatt in Austria. Maier, who works as a fitter in the energy sector in Basel, happened to have his camera set up on a concrete slab when a sudden and intense wet microburst storm swept over the lake. A wet microburst is a short-lived but extremely powerful downdraft caused by a thunderstorm, releasing a massive amount of rain in a very concentrated area. These weather events can be incredibly dangerous, and have even been linked to several aviation disasters. Fortunately, Maier’s encounter with this force of nature resulted in an awe-inspiring video rather than tragedy. Filmed over 30 minutes and condensed into a time-lapse, the footage captures a cascade of rain descending from the mountains before racing across the lake’s surface like a divine deluge.
Maier, an avid mountaineer who always carries several cameras in his backpack, wasn’t even aiming to capture such a dramatic moment—he describes it as pure luck. After posting the video on Facebook, it quickly gained traction, amassing more than 1.6 million views and over 27,000 shares. Some viewers questioned the video’s authenticity, believing it was digitally altered. To dispel doubts, Maier uploaded the raw, unedited version for comparison—proving the power and spontaneity of nature. Reflecting on the footage, Maier told the Press Association, “When I stopped filming, I checked out my work and was amazed at how crazy it looked on time-lapse.” His dedication to documenting natural phenomena has paid off, giving the world a rare glimpse of a wet microburst in action.
