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  1. How Lightning is Created - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Apr 5, 2023 · However, exactly how lightning forms has never been verified, so there is room for debate. Leading theories focus around separation of electric charge and generation of an …

  2. Lightning | Voltage, Causes, & Facts | Britannica

    Dec 11, 2025 · Lightning, the visible discharge of electricity that occurs when a region of a cloud acquires an excess electrical charge, either positive or negative, sufficient to break down the …

  3. Understanding Lightning Science - National Weather Service

    Lightning can occur between opposite charges within the thunderstorm cloud (Intra Cloud Lightning) or between opposite charges in the cloud and on the ground (Cloud-To-Ground …

  4. Lightning - Wikipedia

    The best-studied and understood form of lightning is cloud to ground (CG) lightning. Although more common, intra-cloud (IC) and cloud-to-cloud (CC) flashes are difficult to study because …

  5. Understanding Lightning: How It Happens and Why It Matters

    Feb 4, 2025 · Lightning is essentially a giant spark of electricity. It occurs during thunderstorms when different charges build up in the atmosphere. Here's how it works:

  6. Why Lightning Strikes: The Science of Lightning Formation and …

    Nov 12, 2025 · Lightning forms when static electricity builds in storm clouds, causing powerful discharges that reveal the electrifying science behind thunderstorms.

  7. Thunder and Lightning - Center for Science Education

    Lightning is the most spectacular element of a thunderstorm. Learn how lightning forms, how lightning leads to thunder, and about the types of lightning that occur.

  8. How lightning works - Canada.ca

    Scientists also agree that a developing storm must produce ice for it to form lightning. The turbulent wind environment of a thunderstorm with its updrafts and downdrafts is an ideal …

  9. Lightning explained — Science Learning Hub

    Lightning is produced as a result of charge separation within the atmosphere. Lightning (a spark discharge between centres of positive and negative charge) can occur within clouds, between …

  10. From bolts to blue jets, lightning comes in many strange forms

    13 hours ago · Lightning has captured people's fascination for millennia. It's embedded in mythology, religion and popular culture. Think of Thor in Norse mythology or Indra in Hinduism.