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Where does lightning strike? Most, if not all, lightning flashes produced by storms start inside the cloud. If a lightning flash is going to strike ground, a channel develops downward toward the surface.
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The western mountains of the US also produce strong upward...
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How does Lightning form in a cloud?
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What causes cloud-to-ground lightning?
How does lightning form in a cloud? Lightning is essentially a giant spark that occurs either within a cloud or between the cloud and the ground. Lightning forms and a charge develops because...
- 4 min
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- Met Office - Learn About Weather
2 days ago · Cloud-to-ground lightning is initiated by a preliminary breakdown process within the cloud, typically between the centre region of negative charge and the small positive charge below it. This process creates a channel of partially ionized air—air in which neutral atoms and molecules have been converted to electrically charged ones.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Oct 19, 2023 · Lightning is an electric charge or current. It can come from the clouds to the ground, from cloud to cloud, or from the ground to a cloud. Lightning is a product of a planet ’s atmosphere. Raindrops very high up in the sky turn to ice.
Jan 25, 2018 · In this episode of Weather Wise, host Scott Sutherland explores the different kinds of lightning, what goes on inside storm clouds to produce them, and an unusual explanation for their origin.
- 3 min
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- The Weather Network
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.
Apr 5, 2023 · This positive charge will shadow the storm wherever it goes and is responsible for cloud-to-ground lightning. However, the electric field within the storm is much stronger than the one between the storm base and the Earth's surface, so most lightning (~75-80%) occurs within the storm cloud itself.
