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What causes lightning?

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Started by metmike - Aug. 9, 2018, 11:49 p.m.

We're going backwards here, having discussed thunder first, then its cause, lightning 2nd. However, they are both ultra impressive atmospheric phenomena.

Lightning will be our next topic.

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Re: What causes lightning?

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By metmike - Aug. 11, 2018, 6:01 p.m.

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Animated image shows lightning branches spreading out very slowly toward the ground, then, once the ground is touched, a bright stroke travels up to the cloud and it flickers even more brightly a couple of times.

https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/

What is lightning?

Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere between clouds, the air, or the ground. In the early stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. When the opposite charges builds up enough, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning. The flash of lightning temporarily equalizes the charged regions in the atmosphere until the opposite charges build up again.

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. It can be seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms, in large hurricanes, and obviously, thunderstorms.

How is electrical charge distributed through a thunderstorm?

Charge distribution in storm clouds [+]

A conceptual model shows the electrical charge distribution inside deep convection (thunderstorms), developed by NSSL and university scientists. In the main updraft (in and above the red arrow), there are four main charge regions. In the convective region but outside the outdraft (in and above the blue arrow), there are more than four charge regions.