The buildup and sudden discharge of electrical charge within a thunderstorm, as collisions between ice crystals and graupel particles carried by the storm's updrafts and downdrafts separate positive and negative charge into different regions of the cloud, until the resulting electric field becomes strong enough to ionize a conductive channel through the air. The resulting flash can travel within a cloud, between separate clouds, or to the ground, and the rapid heating of the air along its path produces the shockwave heard as thunder.
Facts
Process TypeAtmospheric Circulation 1 Connections
Sources
1. Lightning Formation (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on the ground.
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