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Theory Observation
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Lightnings
Particles and raindrops motion inside the thunder
The most advanced science about lightnings is that their are multi-stroke. Cloud-to-ground lightnings actually strike the ground in two or more places. The average number is 1.45, with each strike separated from the previous by tens of meters (yards) or more, and occurring in a matter of fractions of second. The percentage is that a lightning strikes more than one place a third of the time. Hence the chances of being struck by lightning are 45 percent higher than usually thought, as the cone of strike points becomes extended . Generally, the National Severe Storms Laboratory has elevated its criteria and recommends that a safe distance from a previous flash is at least 6-8 mi (10-13 km) as opposed to the previous 2-3 mi (3-5 km). Such multi-stroke lightnings have either separate and distinct channels (or "paths") since the cloud (23 percent), or they fork between the cloud and the ground (10 percent). 3 percent are exhibiting both types of behavior. 67 percent of the new strike points are produced by the second strike in the flash rather than by the third or fourth. These ones usually follow the same path than the second strike Recentest studies from satellites in 2006 have found that the regions on Earth experiencing the most intense thunderstorms are found East of the Andes Mountains, in Argentina (where warm and humid air often collides with cooler, drier, one, in a similar way to what is seen East of the Rockies in the US). Some semi-arid regions have powerful storms too, like the southern fringes of the Sahara desert, northern Australia and parts of the Indian subcontinent. Northern Pakistan, Bangladesh, and parts of Central Africa also are on the list of intense thunderstorms. The studies found that it's not where the rainfall are the heaviest that powerful thunderstorms are observed During summer and by any thunderstom-prone weather, swimmers, picnickers, and others should always keep an eye on the sky and stay safe during outdoor activities. In the USA, an average of 80 people are killed and 300 injured by lightning each year, and thousands of dollars' worth of property is damaged or destroyed. Extreme heat and flooding only are superseding thunderstorms in terms of weather-related deaths. for more about lightning safety, see National Weather Service Lightning Safety at the NOAA
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Thunderstorms are violent weather events, most frequent during summer. Starting at about midday, convection is moving in altitude quantities of moisture which transforms into clouds. Cumulus form first, these typical white, woolpack clouds. They possibly turn further into cumulonimbus, these dark, massive, towering clouds. It's this later form which yields thunderstorms, lightnings, and hail. Cumulonimbus may reach up to more than 8 miles (13 km) in altitude!