COLUMBIA, S.C. — According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), lightning strikes the United States about 25 million times a year. Lightning is most common during the summer, ...

Thunderstorm clouds have a lot of air moving around inside them, including updrafts and downdrafts, which can be strong. Updrafts transport tiny drops of rain and ice crystals to the top of the ...

When lightning occurs, it heats the air surrounding its channel to that same incredible temperature in a fraction of a second. Lightning can reach temperatures of 54,000°F (30,000°C) - five times ...

Missourians often associate lightning with thunderstorms or the occasional snowstorm, but other parts of the world also experience lightning in some different scenarios. Residents along coastlines may ...

Lightning flashes streak across the sky in the German countryside. One large flash is mostly horizontal, another one is vertical. Sometimes lightning bolts can stretch hundreds of miles horizontally.

Lightning has captivated scientists for centuries, but despite extensive research, the precise atmospheric conditions that trigger a lightning strike within thunderclouds have remained a profound ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using ...

From your skin feeling tingly to your hair standing on end, nature gives a few warning signs that lightning is imminent, but not every sign of an electrical discharge is as flashy or easily visible as ...

A green spectacle. With protective eyewear, ISTA PHD student Andrea Stöllner takes a glimpse into the experimental chamber (in the foreground) where two laser beams trap a single particle. One ...

The collision of two lightning-bolts-in-the-making spawned an exceedingly brief but extremely energetic flash of gamma rays. This first-of-its-kind observation may help explain an origin of some of ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...