Lightning FAQ: Can a lightning bolt split and strike in more than one place on the ground?
It is a common occurance for a lightning channel to ‘split’ and strike two, three or even more different spots on the ground (image at right). The multiple ground points can range in separation distances from several feet apart to miles apart. Split-channel flashes occur when subsequent return strokes are spaced apart for longer amounts of time, allowing the electrical conductivity of the air along the original lightning channel to dissipate. If the channel conductivity decays enough, the next stroke must form a new stepped leader and a new path to ground midway down to the ground. Normally the strokes occur in rapid succession, leaving no time for the original channel to decay- allowing subsequent strokes to follow the same path. Each channel ‘split’ flashes one at a time, in other words the lightning doesn’t flash down each path simultaneously. This slow-motion animation depicts a split-channel flash. Notice that both strikes use a common path halfway to the ground: In still-camera p
