Lightning

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Lightning, Oklahoma, May 1, 2009 May. Lightning occurs when there is an electrical discharge within, or around, a thunderstorm. Cloud-to-ground lightning occurs when the electrical charge travels between a negatively charged cloud base and the positively charged ground. This is the most spectacular variation of lightning, forming brilliant, jagged bolts between the sky and the ground. Cloud-to-cloud lightning is the most common of lightning. This form lights up the sky and the clouds. If you do not see the bolt of lightning but it illuminates the cloud this is called in-cloud. Lightning usually goes from the negatively charged base to the positively charge top of a cloud. In less occasions, the lightning strike will go from the top of one cloud to the bottom of a nearby cloud. This type of lightning can be seen for over great distances because it is at much higher altitudes.

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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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