Mar 7, 2026 · Lightning, the visible discharge of electricity that occurs when a region of a cloud acquires an excess electrical charge, either positive or negative, sufficient to break down the resistance of air.

We generally know what conditions are needed to produce lightning, but there is still debate about exactly how a cloud builds up electrical charges, and how lightning forms.

The most direct effects of lightning on humans occur as a result of cloud-to-ground lightning, even though intra-cloud and cloud-to-cloud are more common. Intra-cloud and cloud-to-cloud lightning …

2 days ago · Learn how lightning forms, why some regions see far more of it, and how pollution and climate change are affecting storm activity around the world.

Nov 12, 2025 · Lightning forms when static electricity builds in storm clouds, causing powerful discharges that reveal the electrifying science behind thunderstorms.

Although a flash of lightning usually strikes just one spot on the ground, it travels many miles through the atmosphere. When you listen to thunder, you’ll first hear the sound created by that portion of the …

4 days ago · Cloud-to-ground lightning can occur when the build-up of electric charge becomes very different between a part of the cloud and the ground. This is perhaps the most famous type of …

Lightning happens when the negative charges (electrons) in the bottom of the cloud are attracted to the positive charges (protons) in the ground. The accumulation of electric charges must be great enough …

May 16, 2023 · The short answer is that an unequal distribution of electrical charges cause a static discharge, which we call lightning, while thunder is the sound that results from the rapid expansion …

Jul 21, 2025 · What is lightning and what causes it? Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground, or within the clouds themselves.