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Lightning can occur between opposite charges within the thunderstorm cloud (intra-cloud lightning) or between opposite charges in the cloud and on the ground (cloud-to-ground lightning). Lightning is one of the oldest observed natural phenomena on earth.
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Jan 11, 2009 · Question. How do clouds form electricity for lightning? How is the energy stored? Is it dynamically generated? Answer. Chris - The answer is we don't 100% know. Clouds are made of billions of tiny particles, ice crystals.
- How Thunderstorms Develop
- How Lightning Forms
- Thunder
All thunderstorms go through stages of growth, development, electrification and dissipation. Thunderstorms often begin to develop early in the day when the sun heats the air near the ground and pockets of warmer air start to rise in the atmosphere. When these pockets of air reach a certain level in the atmosphere, cumulus clouds start to form. Cont...
Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere or between the atmosphere and the ground. In the initial stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground; however, when the differences in charges becomes too great, this insulating capacity of the ...
Thunder is the sound made by a flash of lightning. As lightning passes through the air it heats the air quickly. This causes the air to expand rapidly and creates the sound wave we hear as thunder. Normally, you can hear thunder about 10 miles from a lightning strike. Since lightning can strike outward 10 miles from a thunderstorm, if you hear thun...
Oct 1, 2005 · If the stepped leader does connect with the ground, however, a short circuit between the cloud and the earth occurs and large currents will flow, starting at the ground and propagating upward.
Intra-cloud lightning is the most common type of discharge. This occurs between oppositely charged centers within the same cloud. Usually the process takes place within the cloud and looks from the outside of the cloud like a diffuse brightening which flickers.
How Does Lightning Form? Use the descriptions and pictures to put the steps of a lightning strike in order. Image Sources: WeatherSTEM
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Oct 19, 2023 · When the air gets very, very hot, the heat makes the air explode. Since light travels much, much, faster than sound, you’ll see lightning before you hear thunder. To figure out how far away a storm is, start counting seconds as soon as you see lightning. Stop when you hear thunder.
