CONTENTS STORMY SKIES 4 WHAT IS LIGHTNING 8 WHAT IS THUNDER 10 THE SCIENCE OF LIGHTNING 12 EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING 14 THE SPEED OF LIGHTNING AND THUNDER 16 THUNDERSTORM SAFETY 18 WHEN EARTH WAS NEW 20 HIGH-ALTITUDE LIGHTNING 22 TRADITIONAL BELIEFS 24 FACT OR FICTION 26 UNDERSTANDING THUNDER AND LIGHTNING 28 GLOSSARY 30 FOR MORE INFORMATION 31 INDEX 32
STORMY SKIES Thunderstorms are a common weather disturbance They are usually violent and short-lived They almost always include thick clouds heavy rain or hail and strong winds They also include lightning and thunder In ancient times people believed that angry gods threw lightning bolts from the heavens It was not until the 1700s that scientists offered an explanation for lightning Lightning is electricity released released from Earth’s atmosphere atmosphere during thunderstorms 4 Thunderstorms occur in almost every region of the world They usually include include thick clouds rain or hail lightning lightning thunder and strong winds
VOCABULARY Electricity is the flow of tiny particles called electrons and protons It can also mean the energy you get when electrons flow from place to place Lightning is most common in tropical regions However thunderstorms with lightning happen in almost almost every region of the world An estimated 1,800 thunderstorms occur around the world at any given time These storms produce eight million flashes of lightning each day If the electricity in one lightning bolt could be harnessed it could power nearly sixty homes for one day 5
