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Asked by jetfire to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 20 Nov 2012.
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Marcus Wilson answered on 20 Nov 2012:
so lightning happens when there is a build up of charge in clouds. If youve ever had an electric shock form a car its the same kind of thing, air moving rapidly against other particles of air can cause static buildup and the particles to become charged.
so it happnes in summer a lot as hot air near the earth rapidly moves up into the atmosphere charging the particels as they go. when they form into clouds theres a lot of charge all in one place, and this jumps to the ground as a huge spark.
thunder accompanies lightning beacuse there is a sudden heating up of the air that causes it to move rapidly – leading to the load rumbling sound
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Adam Paige answered on 20 Nov 2012:
the lightning spark can jump from cloud to ground as Marcus explained. It often jumps from one cloud to another as well. It has to find somewhere to earth though (somewhere for the charges in the lightning to go). It usually finds the fastest way to do this by jumping to a tall, metal object or tall tree.
In a thunderstorm, if you are caught in the countryside you might think to shelter under a tree. But the tree is likely to be struck by the lightning, and this will heat all the water inside the tree turning it to steam. The steam expands and causes the tree to explode. It is supposed to be safer to stay in the open, kneel on the ground with your head between your knees and your bottom up in the air. You are less likely to be struck by lightning than the tall trees, and even if you are struck the lightning should travel down your legs to the ground, and not travel through your chest and head.
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