Also known as sheet lightning or anvil crawlers, this type of lightning is the most common, occurring completely inside one cumulonimbus cloud. Discharges of electricity in anvil crawlers travel up the sides of the cumulonimbus cloud branching out at the anvil top. Sheet lightning can be seen when lightning is close to the horizon. The individual strikes can't be seen, but simply light up the distant cloud.

This lightning is a great lightning discharge between a cumulonimbus cloud and the ground initiated by the downward-moving leader stroke. This is the second most common type of lightning. One special type of cloud-to-ground lightning is anvil-to-ground lightning where the leader stroke issues forth in a nearly horizontal direction until it veers toward the ground. These usually occur miles ahead of the main storm and will strike without warning on a sunny day. These are signs of an approaching storm and are known colloquially as "bolts out of the blue."

Bead lightning is a special type of cloud-to-ground lightning. This is a regular cloud-to-ground stroke that contains a higher intensity of luminosity. When the discharge fades it leaves behind a string of beads effect for a brief moment in the leader channel.

Ribbon lightning is a type of cloud-to-ground lightning that occurs in thunderstorms where there are high cross winds and multiple return strokes. The winds will blow each successive return stroke slightly to one side of the previous return stroke causing a ribbon effect.

Ball lightning is described as a floating, illuminated ball that occurs during thunderstorms. They can be fast moving, slow moving or nearly stationary. Some make hissing or crackling noises or no noise at all. It has been known to pass through windows and even dissipate with a bang. It has rarely, if ever, been recorded by meteorologists.

Most lightning is streak lightning. It is nothing more than the return stroke, the visible part of the lightning stroke. Because most of these strokes occur within a cloud, we do not see many of the individual return strokes in a thunderstorm.

Lightning has been triggered directly by human activity in several instances. Lightning struck the Apollo 12 soon after takeoff, and has struck soon after thermonuclear explosions. It has also been triggered by launching rockets carrying spools of wire into thunderstorms. The wire unwinds as the rocket climbs, making a convenient path for lightning to use.