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Thunderstorms and Lightning
Also referred to as a lightning storm, a thunderstorm is a weather form wherein thunder and lightning are present. Thunderstorms, most especially if accompanied by heavy rains and downburst winds, pose hazards to people and the environment.
5,088 Questions
What is the difference between heat lightning and regular lightning?
Heat lightning is a term used to describe lightning that can be seen from a distance without hearing thunder. It is usually from a distant storm and is not directly associated with the thunderstorm you are observing. Regular lightning produces thunder because it is closer to you, and the sound of thunder travels slower than light, causing a delay between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder.
Lightning often appears slightly bluish.
To be honest, I couldn't tell you if this is due to the high temperature (very hot things, like for example the flames on a gas stove, appear blue) or if it's got something to do with ionization (the atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, and I've seen ionized nitrogen's emission spectrum and would describe it as a pale blue-violet) or if it's just a visual artifact caused by the color sensing cells in your retina overloading (like they do when a camera flash goes off in your eyes and you see spots for a while afterward).
It might even be a combination of all three.
Lightening is different to thunder in which it does not make the same loud boom. Lightening is shiny and a metallic grey/yellow colour. It never appears for more that a few seconds and occurs on stormy days. Lightning itself canreach aprroximatley 54000 degrees fahrenhite. Thats is 6 times hotter than the sun!
What kind of weather comes after a tornado?
If in the mid-latitudes, storms are usually associated with low pressure systems. Cold fronts associated with a low pressure system cause the cold air mass to move into a column of warmer air, creating an unstable atmosphere. This is where storms are created. You may know of a squall line (organized line of thunderstorms, which can be ahead of a fast-moving cold front), this creates severe thunderstorms that only last for at most 2 hours. To get back to the question, once the cold front passes, weather after the storms will be calm. Cooler air temperature and a lowered dew point, also going to have a shift in winds from SE winds to NW winds most likely. Now, if you are in the tropics (ITCZ), you could have thunderstorms all day and night. There is no jet stream support in the tropics, so the storms move slower and in the opposite direction of the westerlies. This is also where typhoons and hurricanes form. Hope this helps out a little bit, have a good one.
What are the lightning conductor?
A lightening conductor is a thick copper wire or strip that connects a spike secured onto the tallest point of a building to a long copper earth pole that is hammered deep into the ground at the side of the building.
It protects the building from lightning strikes, by providing an easier path for current to flow to earth than through the building.
In the event of a direct lightning strike, the current in the conductor may be so great as to melt or even vaporize the metal, but the damage to the building will nevertheless be limited.
Why do lightning rods work better if they are placed high up?
By nature, lightening strikes the tallest object within a vicinity. If the object is not only a good conductor, but also taller than surrounding objects, the electricity will follow the path of least resistance, hence creating a diversion to "lure" it away from the building.
note: study the physics in how lightening actually strikes objects. It actually charges ions in the ground, and sort of meets them half way...
Why do we see lighting before we hear the accompanying thunder?
Because the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. If you are at the sight of the lightening strike then you see and hear the lighting at the same time. The more remote you are the greater the difference between the sight and the sound.
Why does a high pitch noise have a greater frequency?
because the vibration is so fast your ears hurt
low pitched sounds vibrate slowly and doesn't hurt
What are the most powerful thunderstorms?
In my opinion i think the deadliest storm is the fire storm because the fire storm can kill everybody that i land on anything can be burnt and the fire can create more of the enviromental issues in short that mean's global warning.
What are the three stages of thunderstorm development?
1. Cumulus stage
2. Mature stage
3. Dissipating stage
Why is it unsafe to be on or near water during an electrical storm?
they attract electricity. Metal (especially tall metal things like ladders, cell towers, etc etc) will attract lightning - as do larger bodies of water. The safest place in an electrical storm is (if you can't be inside your house) as low down in valley as you can get - high things tend to attract lightning, so don't stand under a tree. Your car is safe as well, so long as you don't step outside - the tires will ground you from any danger.
Why do we see the flash of lightning before we hear it?
Light travels faster than sound. So unless you're very close, the sound will follow shortly after the lightning. For an easier-to-control example, you could watch large fireworks from a distance and get the same effect.
What is the largest lightning bolt ever recorded?
According to the AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, it is 190 km (118 miles), on Oct 13, 2001.
What is difference between wire and rod?
in many mechanics classes, wires have negligible mass and rods have a mass.
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Violent changes in weather are called fronts. These fronts can refer to violent temperature changes such as a cold or hot front for example.
Can a satellite predict a thunderstorm?
Satellites collect and send raw data to ground stations for computers to process and use complex computer models to predict future weather patterns.
How is thunder formed in a thunderstorm?
Three basic ingredients are required for a thunderstorm to form: moisture, rising/unstable air, and a lifting mechanism to force this rising air higher and faster.
Insolation is one such mechanism caused by the sun heating the surface of the earth, adding lift (thermals) to already rising, unstable air. Another mechanism would be where hills, mountains, or even multi-directional winds provide a point of convergence where different air masses, carrying various amounts of heat and moisture, can meet and form an uprising of unstable air.
However the uprising is driven, it will continue rising as long as it remains warmer than the air around it. As the air rises (convects), it transfers some heat energy to the higher levels of the atmosphere. The water vapor in the rising air begins to cool also, condensing into a cloud, and releasing more heat energy. This release of heat energy helps drive the upward movement of the unstable air, creating a low pressure area under the storm system, while cloud formation continues at ever higher levels.
The cloud eventually grows upward to altitudes where the temperature is below freezing. The water vapor condenses as water droplets which eventually freeze. Both carry static electrical charges. Ice particles usually have positive charges, and rain droplets usually have negative charges. When the static charges build up enough, a discharge occurs in what we call a lightning bolt. The discharge generates a momentary void in the air, that is very rapidly filled by the displaced air moving back in to fill the void. This is what generates the sound wave we call thunder.
There are three stages to a thunderstorm: the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. When a thunderstorm begins to form, it does so at the cumulus stage. From there, it advances in activity until it reaches its peak at the mature stage. Then, entering the dissipation stage, begins to gradually lose (dissipate) more energy than it generates.
The most common cause of thunder storm formation is a cold front, a cold front is a fast moving air mass of cold, dense, dry air. When this cold front comes into contact with warmer and more humid air, it will slide, like a wedge, under the warmer and less dense air, forcing it to rise. This cold front provides a steep slope causing the warmer air to move up more quickly. As it rises, it will expand and cool. Since the air is cooling, the concentration of water vapor approaches its saturation point. Once saturation is reached, a cloud starts to form. Since the warm air was forced upward so abruptly, a strong upward development of cloud growth can be observed (cumulus stage). The cloud that you see, is a cumulus cloud, changing into cumulonimbus as it gains altitude. If the upwelling is strong enough the cumulonimbus cloud can reach the bottom of the troposphere and start spreading outward (capping), forming the signature anvil structure (cumulonimbus indus), the characteristic thunderhead,marking the mature stage. At the end of this stage the droplets come together and begin to fall as rain or hail. Precipitation marks the beginning of the dissipation stage where the energy dissipates faster than it can accumulate. The energy dissipates into the surrounding air causing the storm to lose its intensity and finally to disappear.
This is a common scenario of how a thunder storm forms and ends. Storms can be formed by radical changes in weather systems or just because the clouds reach their saturation points.
Why can you hear a fire engine coming around a street corner before you can see it.?
There are two reasons why we can see a plane in the air before we hear it. The first reason is the fact that light moves faster than sound. Everything we see is the result of light reflecting off of an object and into our eyes, producing an image. Second, the plane might be too far. So, with that in mind, we might not even be able to hear the plane in the first place.
Can lightning come without thunder?
Lightning is the electrical discharge which neutralises the static electricity built up within the cloud or between cloud and earth.The very hot plasma bolt which transmits the electrical current super heats water molecules which expand with such speed that they produce the sound of thunder.The only way I can think that this is not the case is if the air is very dry indeed. Almost without exception, the two will always occur together.
Why should you avoid touching anything during a thunderstorm?
A flyer of kites who practices in a thunderstorm invites lightning to travel down the kite's line. And through the flyer. One of the "problems" with lightning is that it doesn't always kill those it strikes. It can horribly main and/or disable those who are struck. A victim can lose internal organs, a limb, or, possibly worse (if one can imagine it) suffer brain damage that changes the personality as well as reduces the mobility of the individual unfortunate enough to become part of lightning's path to ground. Don't even think about doing a Ben Franklin here. He didn't know what we do. Or he probably wouldn't have been out there doing that stuff. And you been warned, ait?
Standing outside during a lightning storm is dangerous. They say that if you are close enough to the storm to hear the thunder then you are close enough to be struck by lightning. People have been struck by lightning when miles from the storm. To fly a kite during an electrical or lightning storm is inviting danger. Since the string is usually wet from the rain (water is a good conductor of electricity) it could complete the circuit between the ground and the storm and if you are near to or holding the string then you are part of the circuit. The string does not have to be wet though. Best to stay indoors and watch the magnificance of a thunderstorm through the window.
What property of sound waves is related to pitch?
Sound waves are different than light waves. Properties of sound waves are
1. It is a longitudinal wave
2. It requires Material medium for propogation of energy.
3. Speed of sound depends on the medium and temperature
4. Sound waves best travel in sound
5. Their speed varies from 330 m/s in air at 0 degree centigrade. where as 6000 m/s in steel.
It also undergoes reflection , interferance . They are measured in decibals.
How long does it take to hear the thunder after you see the lightning?
The lightning and thunder sound occur at the same time, but an observer will experience a delay in hearing the thunder depending on the distance from the lightning strike.
Light travels at slightly less than 3.00 x 106 kilometres/second or around 1.88 x 106 miles/second. That is fast. This means that we see the lightning virtually immediately.
However, under some conditions sound travels at a measly ~1/3 kilometre/second (or ~1/5 mile/second).
First, we must know that sound travels at different speeds, depending on the humidity,
altitude, and temperature. To simplify, let us assume dry air at sea level at 68° F.
------- Kilometers ------- Miles
Speed: 1235 km/hr, 767 mi/hr
Speed: 20.58333 km/min, 12.78333 mi/min
Speed: 0.343056 km/sec, 0.213056 mi/sec
By time: ~1/3 km/sec, ~1/5 mi/sec
x 3 sec: 1.029167 km/(3 sec)
x 5 sec: 1.065278 mi/(3 sec)
By distance: ~1 km/(3 sec), ~1 mi/(5 sec)
What does this mean? When you see the lightning start counting seconds and you then know how far away is the lightning.
If it is almost simultaneous, youch, the lightning struck very close. However,
if the time between the flash and the thunder is 3 seconds, then the lightning is about 1 kilometre away; or
if the time between the flash and the thunder is 5 seconds, then the lightning is about 1 mile away.
How do I count seconds? Anyway you like - 1 little second, 2 little seconds, 3 little seconds;
1 Murrumbidgee, 2 Murrumbidgee, 3 Murrumbidgee etc; or 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi...
If you get to 6 stop worrying.
short
Is a lightning rod a conductor?
Yes. It is conducting electricity, which is energy, which creates friction. That rod is not one solid mass, but a mass of molecules. When enrgized, they bounce around, bumping into each other, creating "molecular friction", or heat. Same priciple a microwave oven operates on........Chuck.
