Scientists baffled by mysterious columns of coloured light

Agreed. Stupid catchy title for link bait, but the photography was in fact pretty good. Too bad they can't be honest in their presentation.

One of the most beautiful sights I've seen was a series of teal-purple flashes of light punctuating a powerful ice storm. I was told later that the lights were power transformers exploding all over town. This was in North Carolina in 1997.

This happens all the time where I grew up in South Dakota, and, like you said, in St. Paul where I lived up until a few months ago. The pictures are cool, but they really don't do it justice. When this phenomenon is happening to every streetlight you can see in the city, it is pretty striking.

edit: when i say all the time, i mean on some of the coldest nights of the year, but it is a pretty frequent occurrence.