Weather Tidbits: Lightning Formation & Types

Lightning is explored in this Weather Tidbits. It begins with electrons or negative charges zigzagging downward known as a “stepped leader”; which draws positive charges upward as the leader nears the ground. A return stroke is created when the leader and stream merge creating a current; which travels at 60,000 miles per second. Lightning consists of many types with ground to cloud being the rarest to cloud to ground and intracloud being the most common ones.