Thunder and lightning go together better than peanut butter and jelly. You can't have thunder without lightning!
What is Lightning?
Lightning is a bright flash of electricity created by a thunderstorm. All thunderstorms produce lightning and are very dangerous. If you hear the sound of thunder, then you are in danger from lightning. Lightning injures or kills more people each year than hurricanes or tornadoes.
What Causes Lightning?
Inside a thunder cloud, many tiny bits of ice (frozen raindrops) bump into each other as they move around in the air. All of those collisions create an electric charge. After a while, the whole cloud fills up with electrical charges. The positive charges or protons form at the top of the cloud and the negative charges or electrons form at the bottom of the cloud. Since opposites attract, that causes a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud. The ground's electrical charge concentrates around anything that sticks up, such as mountains, people, or single trees. The charge coming up from these points eventually connects with a charge reaching down from the clouds and lightning strikes.
How Hot is Lightning?
Lightning is approximately 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That is six times hotter than the surface of the sun.
What Color is Lightning?
Lightning seems to be clear or a white-yellow color. Its appearance depends on the background you see it against.
What Causes Thunder?
Thunder is caused by lightning — you can't have thunder without it. When a lightning bolt travels from a cloud to the ground, it opens up a little hole in the air, called a channel. Once the lightning disappears, the air collapses back into the hole and creates a sound wave that we hear as thunder. The reason we see lightning before we hear thunder is because light travels faster than sound.
Can Thunder Tell You How Far Away a Storm Is?
Yes, you can use thunder to tell how far away a storm is. Next time you see a storm, count the number of seconds between when you see the lightning and hear the thunder. Take the number of seconds and divide by 5. That will tell you how far away the storm is in miles. For example, if you can count 15 seconds between lightning and the thunder, the lightning is three miles away.
