Field record · electric
Lightning channel
Visible flashes may occur inside a cloud or connect cloud and ground. If thunder is audible, treat the situation as hazardous rather than as an observation exercise.
factscale · stormstructure · branching
Safety: If thunder is audible, you are close enough to a thunderstorm for lightning to be a hazard. Use official weather guidance rather than this field record.
How it forms
Lightning is a rapid electrical discharge that occurs when charge separation and electric fields overcome the insulating capacity of air.
What separates it from a neighbor
Lightning is an electrometeor; its branching luminous channel is different from optical phenomena such as rainbows and halos.
Representation boundary
Do not use long-exposure lightning imagery as if it represents what the eye sees in a single instant; disclose exposure/composite methods.
Evidence boundary. This page separates a sourced formation explanation from the editorial “visual character” phrase above. A single image or casual observation may not contain enough context to classify a real phenomenon confidently.
Sources used for this record
National Weather Service — Understanding Lightning Sciencegovernment science and safety
Thunderstorm electrification, lightning and thunder; includes safety framing.
Open source ↗