lightning

Most dangerous lightning

Bolt from the blue lightning

Thunder is heard after lightning because

Light travels faster than speed of sound

Volcanic lightning

When an eruption occurs, earth and ash are thrown into the air in a giant plume, colliding to create an electrical charge. In the same way as normal lightning, the imbalance between the plume's electrical charge and the charge in the atmosphere leads to lightning strikes

Bolt from the blue lightning

anvil lightning. that this type of lightning strike discharge occurs away from its parent thunderstorm. occurs from the highest regions of a cumulonimbus cloud, which then travels from the cloud before making a descent to the ground. Another classification of this lightning is that it can occur when there are blue skies overhead, not necessarily in a thunderstorm.

Blue color lightning

indication that a high precipitation storm is occurring with chances of hail. This color reflects the radiation from the sun and scattering light from atmospheric particles.

Sheet lightning

intra-cloud lightning, type of lightning that occurs within a cloud and lights up the sky in a sheet of luminosity during the initial flash. While this type of lightning strike itself can't be seen by an observer on the ground, the sheet can be seen in the cloud.

fun fact 1

lightning destroys trees - When lightning hits a tree, it usually travels just below the tree's bark where there is a layer of sap and water. This layer becomes instantly heated and expands causing the bark to be blasted off the tree and sometimes splitting the wood.

White color lightning

most dangerous color of lightning due to the fact that this type of lightning is the hottest. This color can indicate a low concentration of moisture in the air as well as a high concentration of dust in the air.

bead lightning

occurs when the lightning channel breaks up into a string of short bright sections. very rare

Purple color lightning

occurs when there is high humidity in the atmosphere and is typically accompanied by high precipitation.

red lightning

sprites ; electrical discharges that appear as bursts of red light above clouds during thunderstorms. sprites flash for just milliseconds

staccato lightning

strike which is a short-duration stroke that often, but not always, appears as a single very bright flash and often has considerable branching.

Lightning strikes per year

1,400,000,000

how far away can thunder be to hear it

12 mi away

Strike length

2-3 miles

Deduce distance of storm by:

5 seconds = 1 like

Cracking & rumbling

50,000 degree lightning expanding in the air around it

lightning strike temp

50,000 degrees / 5x temp of sun

Yellow color lightning

uncommon, it can be caused when there is a high concentration of dust in the air. It can also be an indication of a dry thunderstorm with low levels of precipitation.

Colder the air =

Slower the sound of thunder travels

Catatumbo Lightning

Constant lightning strikes in Venezuela; over 100 strikes per hour

Warmer the air =

Faster the sound of thunder travels

Which way does electricity travel

From ground up

What transportstion vehicle cause lightning

Helicopter

Anvil crawlers

Lightning striking outside rain zone

lightning can carry over ___ volts of electricity

100 million volts

strike time

2 microseconds

Lightning can travel over __ away from the storm

25 miles

Speed of lightning vs lightning flash

270,000 vs 670,000,000 mph

Strikes per day

3,000,000

strikes per second

50-100

forked lightning

Cloud-to-ground lightning that exhibits downward-directed crooked branches.

ff2

Lightning can help plants grow - extreme heat of a lightning strike causes nitrogen to bond with oxygen to create nitrogen oxides which combine with moisture in the air to fall as rain and water plants with nitrate-rich water.

Width of lightning strike

Size of a thumb / a quarter - 1/4th inch

Thunder

The rapid expansion of the heated air causes a shock wave that produces a loud noise.

Heat lightning

a lightning strike that is too far away to hear the thunder, because thunder can only be heard 12 miles away.

Ff5

average lightning bolt can release enough energy to operate a 100-watt light bulb for more than three months straight

intracloud lightning

forms inside of a single storm cloud, which jumps between different charge regions within the cloud. commonly referred to as sheet lightning bc these lightning strikes will light up the sky in a sheet of light. The parts of these lightning strikes are often obscured by the cloud they originate from, hence they may or may not be visible to an observer studying the lightning from the ground.

Positive cloud to ground lightning

occurs between a cloud and the ground. initiated by downward moving lightning strike which is positively charged. are typically associated with supercell thunderstorms or stratiform precipitation regions. identified by distinctive lack of branching from the main strike or branching at higher altitudes. consists of only one return stroke which is bright and very loud with sounds consisting of low frequency sonic booms.

ribbon lightning

occurs in thunderstorms with high cross winds and multiple strokes. The wind will blow each successive stroke slightly to one side of the previous stroke, causing a ribbon appearance.

Negative cloud to ground Lightning

occurs when there is a discharge between a cloud and the ground. It is initiated by a downward moving strike of lightning which is negatively charged. One of most common types

Green color lightning

streamer, or a channel of positively charged molecules that is attracted to an area of negatively charged molecules. When the two channels meet, the circuit is completed and energy is discharged.green color is due to oxygen molecules being supercharged by the energy from the bolt, then losing the extra energy

fork lightning

sudden flash of lightning with two or more lines of light branching from the initial lightning strike. happens inside of a cloud or between a cloud and the ground

Ff4

until the late 18th century it was believed that ringing church bells repelled lightning so many church bells bore the inscription fulgura frango, meaning 'I chase lightning'.