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Lightning in a thunderstorm occurs because the freezing process that takes place at upper levels of the storm separates positive and negative charges. The action of rising and descending air in the updrafts and downdrafts of the storm separates these charged particles further, and allows broad areas of negative and positive charge to develop within a thunderstorm. Lightning results from the build-up and discharge of electrical energy between positively and negatively charged areas of the storm, and between charged portions of the storm and the ground.
The air near a lightning strike is heated to 50,000 degrees F -- hotter than the surface of the sun! The rapid heating and cooling of air near the lightning channel causes a shock wave that results in thunder.
Many fires in the western United States and Alaska are started by lightning. In the past decade, over 15,000 lightning-induced fires nationwide have resulted in several hundred million dollars a year in damage and the loss of 2 million acres of forest.
Definitions and Introduction | What Causes Lightning? | Which Way does Lightning Travel? | Lightning Facts and Myths
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