Weather Extra - Heat Lightning

In their segment answering *your* weather questions, this week Hutch and Ryan answer the age old ...  More »

In their segment answering *your* weather questions, this week Hutch and Ryan answer the age old question...What is heat lightning? Ryan: Hey Hutch we got an e-mail Hutch: All right! Well this one comes in from Jean Weiss and it is a question about heat lightning. What is heat lightning? What makes it different than regular lightning? Why doesn't it produce thunder? It's a great question. Ryan: I like this question it is a common question that everybody asks about. Hutch: We can certainly answer this one. (Crickets Chirping) Ryan: On a hot summer day at twilight the large thunderheads on the horizon flicker with a quiet beauty...Heat Lightning. You'll be suprised to learn that the major difference between lightning and heat lightning is the thunder...or lack thereof. In reality both forms of lightning are EXACTLY the same. But why can't we hear the thunder? Well just as you might not be able to hear someone yelling at you from half a mile away, the same goes for thunder. Whenever lightning strikes it heats the surrounding air, which expands supersonically and creats the clap we hear as thunder. (thunder) The farther the sound travels, it loses energy and dissipates. Hutch: Thunder generally has an audible range around 15 miles whereas lightning can be seen up to 100 miles away. There are a few other factors aside from how far away you are that may inhibit the distance the sound of thunder may travel, such as air temperature, humidity and objects in the way of the sound...even the curve of the earth can play a part. But the main factor is how far you are from the initial lightning strike. Cloud to cloud lightning happens frequently daytime or nighttime. The difference is at nighttime we can see these cloud to cloud lightning strikes for miles. When cloud to cloud lightning happens during the daylight hours we don't see it light up to the top of the thunderheads but at nighttime it makes a beautiful lightshow in the distance. For more Weather Extra, log on to www.kxnet.com/weatherextra where you can find pictures and read the blog and leave comments and ask your questions.  « Less