This is the moment a massive lightning bolt reduces a huge tree to matchwood after it was zapped during a storm in Brazil.

Security camera footage of the blast shows the tree standing tall on a farm in Esperanca do Sul, located in the Celeiro region of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, on Tuesday, 3rd October.

But as cows graze calmly around the tree there is a bright flash of light as the lightning hits the tree and a huge fireball in the canopy starts them running.

The tree can be seen immediately exploding as the bolt cuts right down its trunk, sending shards of wood flying all over the field.

Then the animals are showered with pieces of shattered branches and trunk as the lightning strike splits the tree in half as they stampede away.

Massive storms in the region are said to have damaged hundreds of homes over the last few days.

Local media reported that there was a heavy storm on the night of Tuesday 3rd to Wednesday 4th October, with lightning and even hail reported in the northern regions of the state.

Some areas were reportedly flooded, with reports saying that locals who had already been affected by storms in September have been hit again by the extreme weather, with hundreds of homes damaged.

Luckily, the cows seen in the footage do not appear to have been hurt.