What causes thunder? - Scientific American
WEBDec 30, 2002 · Thunder is caused by lightning, which is essentially a stream of electrons flowing between or within clouds, or between a cloud and the ground. The air surrounding the electron stream is heated...
Thunder - Wikipedia
WEBThunder is the sound caused by lightning. [1][2][3] Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt. [4] .
What Causes Lightning and Thunder? - NOAA SciJinks
WEBSep 11, 2024 · Each year, about 400 people in the U.S. are struck by lightning while working or playing outside. About 50 people are killed and several hundred more are left to cope with permanent disabilities. The summer months of June through September are the deadliest as far as lightning is concerned.
Understanding Lightning: Thunder - National Weather Service
WEBThunder is created when lightning passes through the air. The lightning discharge heats the air rapidly and causes it to expand. The temperature of the air in the lightning channel may reach as high as 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 5 times …
How Does Thunder & Lightning Occur? - Sciencing
WEBThunder and lightning storms occur when warm, moist air rises quickly to form cumulonimbus clouds. The air and water in these clouds start rubbing against each other. This builds up electricity between the cloud and the ground, eventually resulting in …
What Causes Thunder and Lightning? - Science Notes and Projects
WEBMay 16, 2023 · The short answer is that an unequal distribution of electrical charges cause a static discharge, which we call lightning, while thunder is the sound that results from the rapid expansion and contraction of air around a lightning strike. Lightning causes thunder.
Thunder and Lightning - Center for Science Education
WEBLightning 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.
What causes thunder and lightning? - Encyclopedia Britannica
WEBAs early as 1752, Benjamin Franklin discovered that lightning was caused by powerful electrical discharges in the clouds. Thunderstorms are caused by small electrically-charged particles. It's quite simple really. Water in clouds moves upwards. As it does so, it cools and freezes.
What causes thunder and lightning? - Met Office
WEBThunderstorms develop when the atmosphere is unstable. This is when warm air exists underneath much colder air. What causes lightning? As warm air rises it cools and condenses forming small...
How is thunder and lightning made, and what causes it?
WEBNov 20, 2005 · The light that they spray out is what you see as a flash of lightning. The sudden extreme heating of the air causes a compression wave, like clapping your hands together, around the lightning bolt, and that's what slowly propagates to you as a …