How Stuff Works is a site that offers in-depth articles explaining in simple terms how things work. This article provides a detailed description of how lightning works, beginning with understanding the water cycle, which is essential to understanding storms. Topics covered include electric fields, how storm clouds gain charges, step leaders and streamers, thunder, multiple strikes, types of strikes (such as cloud to cloud), types of lightning (such as heat lightning), lightning rods, storm safety, and explanations of popular misconceptions about lightning (such as lightning always strikes the highest point). Links are provided for more information.
This description of a site outside SERC has not been vetted by SERC staff and may be incomplete or incorrect. If you
have information we can use to flesh out or correct this record let us know.
This resource originally cataloged at:
