What is lightning?

Lightning is like a super-fast spark that jumps between clouds or from a cloud to the ground.

Imagine you're wearing a wool sweater and you rub your head really hard, zzzt! You get a little shock. That's kind of what happens in the sky during a storm. Inside the clouds, tiny particles called ice crystals and water droplets bump into each other, creating a build-up of electricity, like when you rub your feet on the carpet.

When there’s enough electricity built up, it wants to go somewhere, just like how you want to touch something after getting that shock. It finds the shortest path to get out, and BOOM! That’s lightning.

Sometimes, lightning goes from one cloud to another. Sometimes, it comes down to hit the ground near you. You might see a flash of light and hear a loud thunder, that's the sound of the electricity moving really fast through the air.

Even though it feels sudden, lightning is just a giant version of that little shock you get from your sweater!