What Causes Thunder and Lightning?

Some kids are afraid of lightning and thunder because of the roaring sound. But are they really dangerous, and what causes them?

What Causes Lightning?

According to the Met Office, warm air cools and condenses as it ascends, generating tiny water droplets. If there is enough instability in the air, the updraft of warm air is rapid, and the water vapor will swiftly create a cumulonimbus cloud. Usually, these cumulonimbus clouds take less than an hour to form.

When the heated air rises, the water droplets mix to generate larger droplets that freeze to form ice crystals. Water freezes on the surface of the droplet or crystal as a result of air movement in the clouds. Hail eventually falls when the droplets are too heavy to be maintained by the air currents.

The Earth's surface and other clouds and objects are drawn to the negative charge. The positive and negative charges combine or discharge to balance the difference in a flash of lightning when the attraction becomes too strong (sometimes known as a lightning strike or lightning bolt). The loud clap of thunder is triggered by the rapid expansion and heating of air brought on by lightning.

You can think of lightning as starting from static charges in a rain cloud. The movement of the warm air and water droplets results in clouds with a negatively charged bottom and a positively charged top, with the atmosphere acting as an insulator. When the charge overpowers the insulating properties of the atmosphere, lightning occurs.

What Causes Thunder?

In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the air around it to astounding temperatures-as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C), which is five times as hot as the Sun's surface, according to SciJinks.

When air is heated, it expands violently, producing a shockwave when the air around it is quickly compressed. As it cools, the air then rapidly compresses. The process has an initial CRACK sound, followed by rumbles, while the air column vibrates.

ALSO READ: Reason for Lightning to Strike in Specific Places Revealed

If you notice, lightning always appears before thunder, and that's because sound waves move significantly more slowly in comparison to light. We may determine how far away the lightning is by calculating the number of seconds until we hear thunder,

The boom can be heard for around 5 seconds across a distance of 1 mile. You may tell the lightning is too close for comfort if the thunder almost immediately follows the lightning!

Keep Yourself Safe From Lightning When Outdoors

Lighting could strike people who work outside or are engaged in outdoor recreational activities, and the consequences can be serious. From 2006 through 2021, lightning caused an average of 18 deaths every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Lightning strikes are rare, but they happen. Here are some tips to keep yourself safe when you are outdoors.

Get off elevated areas like hills or mountain ridges.
Do not lie flat on the ground; instead, crouch down in a ball-like position with your head tucked and head over your ears for minimal contact with the ground.
Do not take shelter under a tree.
Do not use a cliff or rocky overhang for shelter.
Keep yourself away from ponds, lakes, and other bodies of water.
Avoid objects that conduct electricity, like fences, power lines, or windmills.
Stay away from tall structures like poles and trees because lightning tends to strike the tallest or most elevated objects.