Solutions are given for the problem of scattering of plane waves from an arbitrary number of vertical columns that are thin in terms of the incident wavelength. The electric properties of the cylinders are taken as homogeneous and isotropic but otherwise arbitrary, and the incident electric field vector is taken to be parallel to the axis of the cylinders. The scattering solution for individual columns is described, which is used to introduce that for multiple columns under the Born approximation. A more general approach is presented that leads to a solution which includes multiple scattering (coupling) between the cylinders. Comparison is made between this solution for a ring of cylindrical elements and one that treats the scattering from the ring as a whole. The theory described here is now being extended and applied to the scattering from vertical ionized columns known as sprites. These are associated with lightning discharges between the ionosphere and cloud tops.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union