Why do thunder and lightning occur

The rapid expansion and heating of air caused by lightning produces the accompanying loud clap of thunder. Thunderstorms are common occurrences on Earth. It is estimated that a lightning strike hits somewhere on the Earth's surface approximately 44 times every second, a total of nearly 1. Owing to the fact thunderstorms are created by intense heating of the Earth's surface, they are most common in areas of the globe where the weather is hot and humid.

Landmasses, therefore, experience more storms than the oceans and thunderstorms are also more frequent in tropical areas than the higher latitudes. 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. Elmo's Fire? Elmo's Fire appears as a blue or greenish glow above pointed objects on the ground. 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. Elmo's Fire might be seen right before a lightning strike.

What is anvil lightning? Anvil lightning is a type of lightning referred to as "the bolt from the blue" because it often appears suddenly from a seemingly cloudless sky. 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. Can you tell how far away a storm is? Yes, you can use thunder to tell how far away a storm is. Next time you see a storm, count the number of seconds between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder.

Take the number of seconds and divide by 5 and that will tell you how far away the storm is in miles. For example: If you counted 10 seconds between the lightning and the thunder, the lightning is 2 miles away! 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.

Know the Facts A lightning flash is no more than one inch wide. What we see as a flash of lightning may actually be four different strokes in exactly the same place, one right after another. That's why lightning appears to flicker. 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. Lightning happens when the negative charges electrons in the bottom of the cloud are attracted to the positive charges protons in the ground.

The accumulation of electric charges has to be great enough to overcome the insulating properties of air. When this happens, a stream of negative charges pours down towards a high point where positive charges have clustered due to the pull of the thunderhead. The connection is made and the protons rush up to meet the electrons.

It is at that point that we see lightning and hear thunder. A bolt of lightning heats the air along its path causing it to expand rapidly.

Lightning is one of the oldest observed natural phenomena on earth. It can be seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires pyrocumulonimbus clouds , surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms, in large hurricanes, and obviously, thunderstorms.

What are cloud flashes? A cloud flash is lightning that occurs inside the cloud, travels from one part of a cloud to another, and some channels may extend into clear air. Is it possible to have thunder without lightning? No, it is not possible to have thunder without lightning.