What is the difference between thunder and lightning?
Lightning is a sudden, violent flash of electricity that occurs between a cloud and the ground or between two clouds in the sky. A lightning bolt can be several miles long and can be straight or forked. It is very hot, with an average temperature of 34 000 degrees Celsius. This causes the air around the electric bolt to expand, producing lots of sound energy. It is this sound energy that we hear as thunder. So, lightning and thunder are caused by the same event, but lightning is light energy, or electromagnetic energy, whereas thunder is sound energy. Lightning storms occur when moist air is driven up to a great height in the atmosphere, forming a cumulo-nimbus cloud. When the cloud gets high enough, the water freezes and ice crystals form. These fall, turning to rain but when the reach the warm air that is rising, this causes friction, causing a discharge of electricity.
