Weather Authority Insider Blog: Facts about lightning

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY-TV) - By definition, every thunderstorm produces 1 or more bolts of lightning. This hazard kills an average of more than 1 Arizona resident each year; and as many as 15 are injured. 

Number of lightning deaths since 1959 Arizona ranks in the 21-30 category.

Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere between clouds, the air, or the ground. In the early stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. When the opposite charges build up enough, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning. The flash of lightning temporarily equalizes the charged regions in the atmosphere until the opposite charges build up again.

All objects such as trees and skyscrapers are more likely than the surrounding ground to produce one of the connecting sparks and so are more likely to be struck by lightning. Mountains also make good targets. However, this does not always mean tall objects will be struck. Lightning can strike the ground in an open field even if the tree line is close by.

Bodies of water are frequently struck by lightning. Before a lightning strike, a charge builds up along the water's surface. When lightning strikes, most of the electrical discharge occurs near the water's surface.
Most fish swim below the surface and are unaffected. It's still uncertain with how deep the lightning discharge reaches in water, it's still very dangerous to be swimming or boating during a thunderstorm.

Did you know that lightning causes thunder? Energy from a lightning channel heats the air briefly to around 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is much hotter than the surface of the sun.