Why does lightning strike from the ground up

Thunder starts as a shockwave from the explosively expanding lightning channel when a large current causes rapid heating. However, it is possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder because it was too far away. Is lightning always produced by a thunderstorm?

Thunderstorms always have lightning thunder is caused by lightning, and you can't have a thunderstorm without thunder! What causes thunder?

Thunder is caused by lightning. The bright light of the lightning flash caused by the return stroke mentioned above represents a great deal of energy. The air that is now heated to such a high temperature had no time to expand, so it is now at a very high pressure. But the conditions found in such man-made structures can also, rarely, be found in nature. Notice the steep slope up to Pilot Peak, and how narrow and pointy it is? Pretty cool, huh?

I want one. Like Liked by 1 person. Wonderful post : Years ago I milked cows on a dairy farm outside the little town of Enumclaw, Western Washington State. If a field contains many cows and also a horse or donkey she referred to theirs as an ass : , the horse or donkey will get hit, not the cows. When they went to check the next day, the donkey was dead.

What does that say for us people who ride horses? I had a horse like three years ago, but I had to give her away in favor of college. Now I know not to ride through a thunderstorm if I ever find myself with an equine friend again. Good girl! I survived, but could have very easily died! Turns out lots of people have perished back there. Good thing I got all that in earlier in life!

Good talking with you :. Let me know if you get here to So Cal. Got a good blog to check out I think you will enjoy — shots of earth, clouds, weather, from an airline captain that he captures from the cockpit of his plane. Well, I did start a horse-related post series at least two years ago. Got it! Will check it out : Thank you, you are one of the few people who really connect. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account.

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. What is sheet lightning? Sheet lightning appears as flashes of light that seem to light up or illuminate entire clouds. What is heat lightning? Heat lightning is a term used to describe lightning flashes that are too far away from you to hear the thunder.

The reason that it is called heat lightning is that it appears most often on a hot summer day when the sky is clear overhead. What is high-altitude lightning? What is ribbon lightning? Ribbon lightning is when a bolt of lightning separates due to wind and appears as parallel lightning streaks. What is chain or bead lightning? Chain or bead lightning is when a lightning bolt is broken into dotted lines while fading.

What is ball lightning? Ball lightning is a rare form of lightning. It usually appears as a reddish, luminous ball, but can come in any color.

Ball lightning is usually spherical in shape and about one foot in diameter. Hissing noises originate from such balls and they sometimes make a loud noise when they explode. What is St. It is created when tiny positively charged sparks reach up in response to negatively charges in the air or clouds above the ground.

If a thunderstorm is nearby, St. What is anvil lightning? A bolt at the top of a thunderstorm arcs away from the main cloud and strikes the ground where the skies above often appear clear. It is illuminated brightly by the return stroke. A leader reaches from the cloud to the ground below, looking for positive charges. This return stroke releases tremendous energy, bright light and thunder.

They are created when leaders are created and reach from the ground to the sky looking for a leader to connect with. ARC — A channel of ionized air with electric current flowing through it, usually used to describe those occurring during a fault on an energized power line.

Lightning Facts The movement of rain and ice inside a thundercloud creates an electrical charge, with the negative charge electrons forming at the bottom of the cloud and the positive charge protons forming at the top.

A lightning flash is no more than one inch wide. Thousands of people are struck by lightning every year. Direct lightning strikes are usually fatal. What we see as a flash of lightning may actually be four different strokes in exactly the same place, one right after another. Lightning is a powerful burst of electricity that happens very quickly during a thunderstorm.

Lightning can occur inside clouds, between clouds and from clouds to the ground. Around one quarter of lightning is from cloud to ground. Lightning is caused by an electrical charge in the atmosphere that is unbalanced. Opposites attract so the negative charge at the bottom of the cloud seeks out a positive charge to connect with.

There are bolts of lightning striking somewhere on Earth every second. Lightning strikes usually last around 1 or 2 microseconds. Lightning contains millions of volts of electricity.

Lightning is usually produced by cumulonimbus clouds that are very tall and dense. Lightning can also occur during volcanic eruptions, dust storms, snow storms, forest fires and tornadoes. The study of lightning is known as fulminology. Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning. Click Here to see if there are any active warnings in your area. Look for darkening skies, flashes of lightning, or increasing winds.

If you hear the sound of thunder, go to a safe place immediately. The best place to go is a sturdy building or a car, but make sure the windows in the car are shut. Avoid sheds, picnic areas, baseball dugouts and bleachers.

If there is no shelter around you, stay away from trees. Crouch down in the open area, keeping twice as far away from a tree as far as it is tall. Put your feet together and place your hands over your ears to minimize hearing damage from thunder. Swimming, wading, snorkeling and scuba diving are not safe. Stay away from clotheslines, fences, and drop your backpacks because they often have metal on them.

Do not use a corded telephone. Lightning may strike exterior phone lines. Do not use electric equipment like computers and appliances during a storm.

Stay away from windows and doors and stay off porches. Call or send for help immediately. The injured person does not carry an electrical charge, so it is okay to touch them. All you need is a balloon and a light bulb! Make Lightning Experiment: Here is another great experiment that allows the kids to make lightning. This teaches kids about the positive and negative charges and where they come from. Sticking A Balloon To A Wall Experiment: Here is an experiment that allows the kids to learn about static electricity by sticking a balloon to a wall.

Bend Water Experiment: Here is another static electricity experiment that bends water.