Why Do We Have Lightning Storms

It is estimated that a lightning strike hits somewhere on the earth s surface approximately 44 times every second a total of nearly 1 4 billion lightning strikes every year.

Why do we have lightning storms. To understand why thunderstorms occur more often during the warm months requires some understanding of thunderstorm basics. That s why lightning appears to flicker. How fast the ice develops the depth of the icy portion of the storm and how quickly the precipitation moves within the cloud are important to the lightning process. The ground s positive charge concentrates around anything that sticks up trees lightning conductors even people.

It can be seen in volcanic eruptions extremely intense forest fires surface nuclear detonations heavy snowstorms in large hurricanes and obviously thunderstorms. The two biggest threats associated with most thunderstorms are lightning and flash floods. Thunder is created when lightning passes through the air. Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground or within the clouds themselves.

Read more about nssl s lightning research here. Keep an eye at the sky. Here are the best tips on what to do if stuck outdoors during a thunderstorm. Immediately after the flash the air cools and contracts quickly.

That s correct but one thing you should never do during thunderstorms is lie down on the ground. There is still much research that needs to be done to fully understand this process. All thunderstorms have ice in the upper portions of the storm. What we see as a flash of lightning may actually be four different strokes in exactly the same place one right after another.

The lightning discharge heats the air rapidly and causes it to expand. Most lightning happens inside a cloud but sometimes it happens between the cloud and the ground. Most lightning occurs within the clouds. Click here to see if there are any active warnings in your area.

When lightning strikes finding the right shelter may not always be easy. The cdc says that even at 100 feet away the electric current from lightning that runs on the. Most thunderstorms last about 30 minutes and are typically about 15 miles 24 km in diameter. Lightning safety tips if you re outdoors.

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. Lightning is one of the oldest observed natural phenomena on earth.