What Causes Thunder And Lightning - Both thunder and lightning are extraordinary acts of nature that occur all over the world. Loud bursts of thunder and flashes of light produced by lightning can be seen occasionally in our skies when we experience a storm. In this article, we will look at what thunder and lighting are and what causes them.
What causes thunderstorms?
Thunderstorms occur when there is an unstable atmosphere and where cold air meets hot air.
Hot air rises, and as it reaches cooler air, it forms water droplets. This composition is called convection. Sometimes these water droplets can freeze as they move.
The upward flow of hot air can be so fast that it forms cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulonimbus clouds, more commonly known as storm clouds, are the only type of clouds that can cause hail, thunder, and lighting. A thunderstorm is when a cumulonimbus cloud collects too much energy.
This occurs when all the frozen water particles move around the cloud at high speed and collide with each other. This collision produces an electric charge.
After the electric charge builds up in the cloud, positive protons form at the top of the cloud, and negative protons gather at the bottom. The buildup becomes positively charged and needs to be released, causing a thunderstorm.
What is lightning?
Lightning is a flash of bright light or electricity caused by a thunderstorm.
When protons have accumulated in the cloud, they attract oppositely charged protons around them. This means the positively charged protons in the ground below will attract the negatively charged protons at the cloud base.
Negatively charged protons from clouds are attracted to nearby positively charged protons, as well as to objects such as mountains, people, or trees. The charge coming from these ground points will eventually meet the negative protons in the cloud, causing lightning to strike.
The same is true when you experience a static electric shock.
Lightning is an electric wave that is created between the clouds and the earth, and lightning is the result.
What is thunder?
Thunder is the sound of a lightning strike. the rumbles we call thunder are the vibrating sound created by lightning. when a change occurs, the particles vibrate as they move.
Since lightning is a huge release of energy, the vibrations it causes are enormous. lightning bolts are also very hot, and this direct heat causes the air particles to expand, which creates more force. these vibrations propagate as sound waves to our ears, and as a result, we hear a rumble. If you are close enough to the lightning strike, you may hear a cracking or creaking sound.
We hear sharper sounds the closer we get because the sound waves from the lighting vibrations are not distorted by the reflections of surrounding objects.
Why don't we hear thunder along with seeing lightning?
The main reason not to hear thunder at the same time as seeing lightning is that sound waves travel slower than light.
Light waves travel at a faster speed, so we'll see a flash before we hear a rumble. there is a myth that if you count the time between seeing the flash and hearing the roar, you can tell how far away the storm is.
However, this has proven not to be an accurate way to measure the distance between you and the storm.
This technique can be used to estimate distances but with a little more math than just counting.
Where do thunderstorms and wilting lightning often occur?
The places that experience the most wilting thunderstorms on earth are located at the equator.
This is due to the hot and humid climate along the equator. for this reason, thunderstorms are very rare in the North and South Poles.
The equator is known as a static wilting spot on earth and produces some spectacular shriveling lightning shows. the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa is known as the capital of thunderstorms. the mountain village of Kifuka in DR Congo experiences an average of 158 lightning flashes per 247 hectares (square kilometers) each year. other locations that experienced high levels of thunderstorms were Venezuela and India.
NASA research shows that in eastern India, the Brahmaputra Valley experiences the highest number of illuminations per month between April and May, which is during the annual monsoon.
Where is the thunder capital of the world?
Although many places along the equator experience large amounts of thunder and lightning, there is one place that is second to none. lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has an average of 250 lightning flashes per 247 hectares (square kilometers) each year.
This natural phenomenon is known as Catatumbo lightning or the Indication of Maracaibo.
Reference and Source:
- https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/learn-about/weather/types-of-weather/thunder-and-lightning/what-causes-thunder-lightning
- https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/outdoors/what-causes-thunder-and-lightning-the-science-behind-the-weather-phenomenon-explained-and-how-to-stay-safe-if-youre-caught-in-a-storm-2938816
- https://scijinks.gov/lightning/