Does lightning require moisture?

There are three basic ingredients needed for thunderstorm development: moisture, an unstable atmosphere, and some way to start the atmosphere moving. Moisture is necessary to produce the thunderstorm clouds and precipitation.

Can lightning strike when there are no clouds?

Lightning is very bright and each bolt can travel long distances, allowing you to see them from far distances where there isn’t any clouds. In no way, can lightning be produced without clouds.

Does lightning always strike ground?

Does lightning strike from the sky down, or the ground up? The answer is both. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning comes from the sky down, but the part you see comes from the ground up. A typical cloud-to-ground flash lowers a path of negative electricity (that we cannot see) towards the ground in a series of spurts.

What is a lightning storm without thunder?

The phenomenon that is called silent or heat lightning is simply cloud-to-ground lightning that occurs very far away, with thunder that dissipates before it reaches the observer and cannot be heard. “You sometimes see the lightning flash but you are too far away to hear the thunder.”

Can lightning strike the same place twice in one storm?

Fact: Lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, especially if it’s a tall, pointy, isolated object. The Empire State Building was once used as a lightning laboratory because it is hit nearly 25 times per year, and has been known to have been hit up to a dozen times during a single storm.

Is it safe from lightning if it’s not raining?

Myth: If it’s not raining or there aren’t clouds overhead, you’re safe from lightning. Fact: Lightning often strikes more than three miles from the center of the thunderstorm, far outside the rain or thunderstorm cloud. “Bolts from the blue” can strike 10-15 miles from the thunderstorm.

What is the most dangerous way to be struck by lightning?

Direct Strike A person struck directly by lightning becomes a part of the main lightning discharge channel. Most often, direct strikes occur to victims who are in open areas. Direct strikes are not as common as the other ways people are struck by lightning, but they are potentially the most deadly.

Where do lightning strikes occur and why?

Where does lightning strike? Most, if not all, lightning flashes produced by storms start inside the cloud. If a lightning flash is going to strike ground, a channel develops downward toward the surface. When it gets less than roughly a hundred yards of the ground, objects like trees and bushes and buildings start sending up sparks to meet it.