What is the diff between heat lightning and lightning, and does heat lightning have thunder?
365203
Heat lightning or summer lightning\n\nHeat lightning (or, in the UK, "summer lightning") is nothing more than the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon from distant thunderstorms. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights. Heat lightning can be an early warning sign that thunderstorms are approaching. In Florida, heat lightning is often seen out over the water at night, the remnants of storms that formed during the day along a seabreeze front coming in from the opposite coast.\n\nSome cases of "heat lightning" can be explained by the refraction of sound by bodies of air with different densities. An observer may see nearby lightning, but the sound from the discharge is refracted over his head by a change in the temperature, and therefore the density, of the air around him. As a result, the lightning discharge appears to be silent. [4]
500891
At a guess I would say it was St. Elmos Fire.... No, not the movie... St. Elmos Fire is Ball Lightning. While not a whole lot is known about ball lightning it is very cool. I wish I had more information for you.
1133106
I'm not quite sure w/ whom you are comparing NC's thunder to. I can tell you that the thunder & lightning here are no different than anywhere else except for the fact that we have a lot of them.\n\nThe amount of strong storms is attributed to the fact that warm moist air masses move in from the Gulf & off the Atlantic coupled w/ cooler air from the NW. This combination, at times, can make for some really bad thunderstorms.
1131034
neither just full of lightning...LOL! It's me 10 points.\neverything_sweet_npink♥
223069
Thunder is the sound made when lightning sweeps through the air, then back, and then the air collides together, making the "boom".  Lightning is a bright flash of electricity.
50153
The sun is hotter. True Lightning does reach 28,000 Kelvins, and the suns surface is only 5,800 kelvins. But the suns core is 15,600,000 kelvins.
665153
The exact reason is not proven, but suspected that it is because precipitation falls to the ground carrying electrons, and the lightning occurs when the difference in charges between the clouds and the ground even out, and the electrons jump back to the clouds.  That is why lightning is said to go from ground to the clouds.
485683
Lightning is a powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. This abrupt electric discharge is accompanied by the emission of visible light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The electric current passing through the discharge channels rapidly heats and expands the air into plasma, producing acoustic shock waves (thunder) in the atmosphere.\n\n\nThe saying "lightning never strikes twice in the same place" is false. The Empire State Building is struck by lightning on average 100 times each year, and was once struck 15 times in 15 minutes.\n\n\nk.m.
341077
I believe they are refering to sheet lightning that never touches the ground. In the tropics it can be extremely brilliant lighting up the sky like a neon glow.
1077150
Thunderstorms are an occurrence of high pressure and low pressure. When the two zone converge they create ionization of the atmosphere, that is an electrical charge one is positive and the other negative, with the ground being ground. As the two systems get closer to each other, the disruption in the atmosphere caused the discharge of positive electrons across the pressure zones creating a static discharge in the form of lightening, most of the time the lightening strikes from positive to negative between the clouds, however many times the discharge is so massive it goes to ground. Thunder is the sound the lightening makes as it breaks the sound barrier of approximately 720 mile per hour when flashing between positive and negative poles.
1044273
Well like all the others you need warm air to rise to create that warming effect. but on rare occations there is what is called Thundersnow which I have experiance a few times with major snow storms. There aint as much thunder as in regular thunderstorms but it still can be heard.
224271
Hello,\nLightening is caused due to the build up of electrons in the upper layers of the clouds during a storm. These electrons are attracted towards the positive potential of the earth, but the air gives a stiff resistance and does not allow the electricity to pass through. But when a huge potential has been accumulated, the electricity forces its way through the air molecules. This causes a lot of friction and hence releases heat energy. A tremendous amount of heat energy. This causes the air molecules to vibrate and this produces the cracking sound known as thunder. Thunder rattles the windows if it is loud enough. Sound is just the air particles vibrating and when the vibrating air molecules hit the window, they cause it to rattle. Lightning usually strikes the highest point and the most positively charged area. This is becuz lightning looks for the easiest way out of air. A high place means it has to travel less distance...
316194
In the standard atmosphere:\n\nON average the speed of sound is approximately 1100 ft per second....... so for every five seconds of delay from the flash of the lightning to the beginning of the thunder makes it (about) one mile away..
1174036
Lightning and thunder actually occured the same time. Only light travels faster than sound, so we see lightning before hear thunder.\n\nLightning is actually negative charges (electron) which jump to positive charges. How this charges formed?, Well, simply by the cloud moving in the sky.\n\nCloud 'rub' against air particle and positive and negative charges formed. Negative charges tend to appear at the botom or cloud while positive charges tend to appear at the top.\n\nWhen two clouds collide, the negative charges 'jump' to the positive charges (massively). This produces light and sound,, like normal spark, (only its a giant spark in the sky),\n\nSometimes lightning is dangerous becoz some positie charges 'dropped' to the ground, and the eloctron jumps to the ground, (a human standing there will be Bad Luck)
1030331
The clouds form when air near the earth's surface is warmed, causing it to rise since warm air rises. Think of a marshmallow in a microwave; as the microwave heats the marshmallow it begins to expand. This is similar to most things, like air. When air heats up it expands and this expanding air has to go somewhere because it is taking up more space, just as the marshmallow does, so this expanding warm air rises. Well, as the air rises it is losing its heat and cooling. When things cool, they condense; think of the marshmallow again as it cools when you take it out of the microwave (it shrinks, or condenses). In a general sense, to give you a brief idea of how clouds form, when condensation occurs, clouds take shape; you must keep in mind, however, that there is much more involved in cloud formation, but this was just to get you thinking and give a place for the lightning to happen.\n\nThe tendency of charges within a cloud is to have positive charges gather toward the upper portion and negative charges in the bottom of the cloud. \nWhen the difference between these charges is great enough to overcome the air's natural insulation, which keeps these charges from mixing, a lightning flash can take place. This charge difference builds up to millions of volts before the stoke of lightning takes place. The lightning bolt actually happens because nature tries to maintain equilibrium, a state of balance between all things. This is why the lightning that you see is a discharge of energy in the form of electricity. \n\nyea..thats the scientific answer to why it strikes...hope u can undertand it....i got it in skool\n\nas for how far away it is\n\ni learned that it comes from the "eye" of the storm or the center, && after the lightning flashes, count mississippi & the number of seconds equals a rought amount of miles you are away from the "eye" of the storm\n\nhope that helps
439061
Lightning is electricity. When the clouds build up too much electrons and the voltage between the cloud and the ground is great enough to cause air to break down and conduct, you get lighting. Its like a spark.
480333
natural LIGHTING comes from the sun,\notherwise, usually from an electric light bulb\n\nHowever, LIGHTNING, is a dual attraction between the sky and the ground, but physically speaking the negative charge in the sky is seeking out a positive charge on the ground, the LIGHTNING comes FROM THE SKY.\nHowever, you may not often see this and since there is a return of the lightning energy back up to the sky, (to balance the energy) so if you look after the sound of thunder you are seeing the return.