Phenomena Explained:

“Lightning”
 Mechanism Of Lightning
1. Electrification
 • Within the clouds, the cloud particles are moving and
whirling in a turbulent fashion.

• Water vapor gets cooled in the central part of the cloud

(-15 to -25 ) to form super-cooled cloud droplets, small
ice crystals and graupel (soft hail).

• The Updraft carries super-cooled cloud droplets and

very small ice crystals upwards. Graupel, being heavier
and denser, tend to fall downwards or suspend in the
rising air.

• Due to the difference in motion of the cloud particles,

collisions occur.
 • During collision, heaver particles like graupel
snatch the electrons from lighter particles like
small ice crystals i.e. the heavier particles get
charged negatively while the lighter ones get
charged positively.

• The Updraft carries the positively charged ice

crystals upward while the graupel is either
suspended in the middle or falls down to the lower
part of the cloud.

• This finally causes charge separation within the

cloud.

• A small amount of positive charge is also developed

near the bottom of the cloud due to precipitation
and warmer temperature.
Source: nssl.noaa.gov
2. Electric Field Generation

• Charge of opposite polarity is induced on Earth’s surface

underneath the cloud.

• The oppositely charged region creates an electric field in

the atmosphere.

• The magnitude of the electric field depends upon the

accumulated charge.
3. Formation of Leader

• Lightning leader is a bidirectional channel of

ionized air with opposite polarity which is
initiated between oppositely charged regions in
a thundercloud.

• The process of how a lightning leader is

initiated is still not well understood.

• The each ends of leader spread and branch out

attempting to neutralize the charge separation.

• In the most common cloud to ground (CG)

lightning, a negatively charged step leader
approaches the ground increasing the positive
charge accumulated on the ground. Source: Pecos Hank
4. Discharge

• As the tip of the negative leader approaches the ground an

upward travelling streamer is developed from the ground.

• When the leader meets the streamer, a low resistance

pathway is established between the cloud and the ground
through which a massive amount of electrons is dumped
into the ground.
Source: Pecos Hank
• The bright flash of light seen after the gap between the
leaders is bridged is called the return stroke.

• The electric current of the return stroke averages 30

kiloamperes for a typical negative CG return stroke.

• The rate at which the return stroke current travels has been
found to be around 100,000 km/s.
 • The massive flow of electric current occurring during the return stroke
combined with the rate at which it occurs (measured in microseconds)
rapidly superheats the completed leader channel, forming a highly
electrically conductive plasma channel.

• The core temperature of the plasma during the return stroke may exceed
50,000, causing it to brilliantly radiate with a blue-white color. 

• This massive amount of the heat generated causes the air around to
expand so suddenly that a burst of supersonic shockwave is propagated in
the atmosphere which we hear as thunder.
Positive CG and Negative CG
• Cloud to ground lightning strikes are characterized as
positive or negative depending on the net charge that
the bolt shifts to the ground.

• If a negative leader connects to the ground, the

lightning transfers a surplus of negative charge to the
ground and we call it positive CG.

• If a positive leader connects to the ground, there is a

net transfer of positive charge from the cloud to the
ground during the lightning and we call it negative CG

• Negative CG consists of multiple return strokes while

the positive CG usually consists of a single stroke

• Negative CGs are more branched and less bright than

positive CGs.
• A positive CG is way more fatal than the
negative one.

Source: Pecos Hank

Bolt From The Blue

The bolt of lightning leaping

away from the back of the
storm clouds is called a BOLT
FROM THE BLUE.
Upward Lightning

• This sort of lightning, as its name

suggests, travel upwards from tall
objects on the earth up to the cloud.

• It usually has upward propagating

positive leader.

• The cause of the origin of such leader

can be the horizontal lightning within
the clouds.

Source: Pecos Hank

Red Sprite

The horizontal lightning

within the clouds can
also cause a discharge
above the troposphere
known as sprite.
Observational Variations in
Lightning

Bead Lightning
Anvil Crawler

Cloud to air Lightning

Smooth Channel
Forked Lightning
Lightning

Ball Lightning
Measures To Stay
Safe