When Lightning Strikes
As we go through the peak of the hurricane season, Dr Anjani Ganase warns of the perils of lightning strikes. Watch from a safe place and wonder at nature’s amazing light shows. There are many forms of lightning strikes. Within storm clouds, positive and negative charges form as ice particles move around under turbulent conditions. Typically, the top portion of the cloud develops a net positive charge, while the bottom of the cloud becomes net negative. Sheet lightning is the result of the discharge of these charges and the formation of electricity within the clouds. Sometimes the discharge occurs between the cloud and the earth and there are four different lightning patterns that can be formed staccato, forked, ribbon and bead lightning. A negative lightning strike occurs between the net negative charge of the cloud base and the earth where it grounds itself. Conversely, positive lightning strikes are rarer where the positive charge of the cloud found at much higher a...