You are here:

Accuweather/lighting

Advertisement

Expert: - 1/25/2005


Question
hey ive asked you this before but u never answerd it:
    can u tell me all u no about lighting



                              thank you

Answer
Curtis,
Lightning can be described as an enormous spark, an electrical discharge of great potential. It originates in towering clouds, called cumulonimbus clouds, which form into thunderstorms. Within these clouds there are descending and ascending currents of air. The splitting and collision of water droplets and ice crystals in these currents create opposite electrical charges that concentrate in different sections of the cloud, creating a giant storage battery. The upper regions of the cloud carry a net positive charge, while the lower regions are negatively charged. Lightning is a discharge between the two, or between the lower portion of the cloud and the positively charged earth. Discharges from one cloud to another can also take place. Most lightning activity occurs within the cloud; it is estimated that only about 20% of the discharges are of the cloud-to-ground variety, so spectacular to people.

I hope this answered your question.

Sincerely,

Dave Dombek
Expert Senior Meteorologist
AccuWeather.com

Accuweather

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Dave Dombek

Expertise

A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.

Experience

Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.