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Heat Lightning from pier on Lake Pontchartrain, Madisonville, LA
Heat lightning, sometimes known as silent lightning, is the name used for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. This often occurs because of inter-cloud and intra-cloud lightning, where lightning charges travel from cloud-to-cloud or merely areas of differing electric potential within a single cloud, respectively. Because of this nature, heat lightning can often be seen from great distances, and thus can be an early warning sign that thunderstorms are approaching. The term could be considered a misnomer because it has nothing to do with the heat of the lightning itself.
Heat Lightning from pier on Lake Pontchartrain, Madisonville, LA
Heat lightning, sometimes known as silent lightning, is the name used for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. This often occurs because of inter-cloud and intra-cloud lightning, where lightning charges travel from cloud-to-cloud or merely areas of differing electric potential within a single cloud, respectively. Because of this nature, heat lightning can often be seen from great distances, and thus can be an early warning sign that thunderstorms are approaching. The term could be considered a misnomer because it has nothing to do with the heat of the lightning itself.