What is the difference between thunder, lightning and lightning

Our storms They are spectacular meteorological phenomena, not only because of the luminosity that they can bring to the night sky, but also because of the incredible force that nature has, which shows with the presence of thunder, lightning and lightning.

They can be very dangerous, so it is always recommended to observe them from a safe place, but Can you tell the difference between lightning and lightning? And what is thunder? While they may look the same, they are actually slightly different formations. Thus, to help you identify one and the other, we will explain how they differ.

Thunderbolt

Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge. It has a length of more or less 1500 meters, although they can reach much more. In fact, one was recorded in Texas on October 31, 2001 that measured neither more nor less than 190km. The speed with which they can reach the ground is also impressive: at 200.000 km / h.

They occur in vertically developing clouds called cumulonimbus, which, once they reach an intermediate point between the troposphere and the stratosphere (called troppopause), the positive charges of the mentioned clouds attract negatives, thus giving rise to rays. This is the scientific explanation of how lightning is formed.

Flash of lightning

Lightning is the illumination that we can when an electrical storm occurs. Unlike lightning, lightning never touches the ground.

Thunder

And finally we have the thunder, which is nothing but the sound heard during a storm electricity when lightning heats the air through which it moves to more than 28.000ºC. This air expands at high speed, so it does not take long to mix with the cold air in the environment, causing a drastic drop in temperature, contracting.

We hope we have solved your doubts and that you can now differentiate between lightning, lightning and thunder. And remember, storms are incredible natural spectacles, but you always have to enjoy them carefully .