Lightning

Find out in more detail about different types of extreme weather, from flooding to thunderstorms, from tropical cyclones to sandstorms, and more (w/ helpful videos).

Colloquially referred to as "dirty lightning," the electrostatic discharge is fueled by the movement of volcanic ash and gases, which facilitate charge separation. The phenomenon was first described during Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 CE.

This interactive map lets you track where lightning strikes are occurring across the US and the world.

A seven-minute video illustrating how a storm is made. These factors—moisture, instability, lift, and shear—are explained through a series of data sets and creative, descriptive diagrams.

What happens when lightning strikes a beach? We take a look at ten interesting facts that you might not know about lightning.

As this volcanic material rises, it cools and descends, and competing flows strip atoms of their electrons to build static electricity. The bursts of electrical discharge are sometimes called dirty lightning and can reach temperatures over 16,500°C.

While passing over the Alabama and Georgia regions, NASA astronauts photographed passing thunderstorms from the ISS. The illuminated clouds are described as "nebula-like formations."

Methane and air bubbles moving through water can generate small sparks between them, which can ignite gas. The above-ground phenomenon may have historically been the result of passing travelers igniting swamp gas with their lanterns.

Lightning forms from the collisions between graupel—small hail particles—and smaller ice particles, which transfer electrons. Layers of opposing charges form as these differently sized particles rise and fall. When air cannot insulate these layers anymore, electricity discharges, equalizing these regions.

Scott Sutherland starts off a new season of Weather Wise by answering an age-old question about weather: What causes thunderstorms?