Lightning, a sudden, intense discharge of electricity that occurs during a thunderstorm. Though lightning only lasts fractions of a second, it has a wide-variety of effects include atmospheric chemistry, ignites wildfires, and poses hazards to people.
Believe it or not, lightning occurs in several different forms, each produced by a variation of interactions within a thunderstorm. The most common, cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning where the electrical charge travels between the storm cloud to the Earth's surface.
Other types of lightning include:
1. Intra-cloud (IC): Very common.
2. Cloud-to-cloud (CC): Uncommon.
3. Cloud-to-air (CA): Occasional.
4. Ground-to cloud (GC): Rare.
Similar to tornado safety, lightning safety is critically important because lightning is a natural hazard that can strike miles away from a storm. Many lightning-related injuries occur not because storms are directly overhead, but because people underestimate the threat or delay seeking shelter. Remember, when thunder roars, GO INDOORS! Once you've taken shelter, it is essential that you wait 30 minutes after you last hear thunder to resume activities.
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