Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A Penn State-led study reveals the hidden chain reaction that starts lightning, linking ...

Scientists have known for decades how lightning travels once it forms, but the exact trigger inside a thundercloud stayed uncertain. A new study now offers the clearest explanation yet for how ...

In brief: The process that creates lightning has never been precisely understood, but scientists know that ice plays a crucial role. New research into developing cold electrical components may have ...

Inside a thunderstorm, warm air is forced upward in a strong updraft. As the air rises, ice and water particles collide inside the cloud, creating electrical charges. Those collisions build up ...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Lightning is one of nature’s most electrifying spectacles—literally. According to the National Weather Service, thunderstorms form when key ingredients—moisture, instability and ...

Scientists have long understood why lightning forms, but the atomic processes at the core of the phenomenon have remained largely a mystery—especially the strange mechanics behind terrestrial ...

Lightning forms due to a difference in charges. Negative charges accumulates at the bottom of the storm cloud. Of course, opposites attract. A positive charge accumulates on the ground under the storm ...