Lightning
By Phillip Williams
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Hello, I’m Storm Team 9 Chief Meteorologist Phillip Williams.
Lightning lit up the skies for parts of the East Thursday evening. Do you know how hot a bolt of lightning is? Would you believe 30,000 degree? That is the correct answer! That is also why lightning makes thunder. Thunder is the sound of the air exploding. Thunder is also harmless, so if you or your children are afraid of thunder, don’t be. Consider thunder a good friend telling you to get inside where it is safe from lightning.
Lightning happens with hot air rises into colder air. The raindrops are carried high in the cloud where the outer shell of the raindrops begin to freeze. As they go higher where it is colder the inside of the raindrop freezes next and expands. That shatters the outer shell of ice into a bunch of little pieces of ice. The little pieces of ice are positively charged which leaves the rest of frozen droplet negatively charged. The tiny pieces are carried higher in the cloud because they weigh less. The next thing you know, you have a cloud that is negative at the lower part and positive at the top. This seperation of charges gets high enough to cause lightning.
What is interesting is that you feel this happening. Have you ever been inside with no windows, but you feel a storm is getting closer. This could be explained by the electrical charges. Since the lowest part of a storm is negative, then as it approaches, it chases away other negative charges, so objects including people become positively charged. You may be able to feel this as strands of hair begin to seperate. If you are ever outside and a storm is approaching and you feel a tingling feeling, lightning may be about to strike. Get inside right away.
Our hot weather lately can make thunderstorms grow very tall. Respect lightning and enjoy the show from the safety of inside your home or car. Oh yes, lightning can strike cars, but if you are inside the car with the windows closed, then you will be safe. Inside a home is the best place to be during a storm.
Heat waves are known to create storms with the most vivid lightning. You can see some amazing lightning pictures at the National Weather Service lightning safety page.
Take care,
Phillip Williams
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