Electricity comes in every shape and size. We rely on it when we need to charge our phones, watch TV and cook our meals. Electricity is a naturally occurring build up of energy that flows from one place to another and humans have learned to harness and create electrical current for our own uses. All electrical current must have negative and positive charges. When lightning strikes you are witnessing the most dramatic release, or discharge of electricity known. During thunderstorms, you are likely to see the most beautiful, and deadly, fireworks show on earth.

Scientists have been studying lightning for thousands of years. Modern scientists are still studying it. They know that lightning is a build up of electrical charges in clouds during cloud convection. Cloud convection happens when warm air rises into a cloud and colder air is forced down toward the Earth. When the charge becomes too big it is released and lightning has been created. As the heated electrical charge passes through the air it creates a shockwave that is heard as thunder. Sound travels slower than light so we can always see the lightning first. You can estimate how far away a storm is by counting seconds between the lightning and when you hear the thunder. On average, if you can count five seconds, the storm is 1 mile away. 

Lightning is deadly. It can be as hot as 54,000 degrees fahrenheit, and can be five miles long. There is so much power in a bolt of lightning that it could provide electricity to a small town for an entire day. About 200 people a year are struck by lightning. This makes lightning safety important. Seeking shelter is the best thing to do.  One record in the Guiness Book of World Records you wouldn’t want to beat is the one set by a park ranger named Roy Sullivan. He was struck by lightning seven times. Yikes!!

Lightning can come in different forms. The most common form of lightning is called cloud to cloud lightning. This type of lightning causes the most damage to airplanes. Next, you have cloud to ground lightning. This lightning is the most dangerous to humans. A very rare form of lightning is called ball lightning. Ball lightning is so rare scientists know it is real, they just don’t know what causes it.