MidnightNoonMidnight
Background flashes only.
Hold rain, clouds, water and distant flashes.
About this moment+
Charge
Inside the cloud, collisions separate electrical charge. The air below remains an insulator.
Play runs a quick flash. Scroll or use the timeline to inspect it slowly. Charge prepares a new formation.
How the channel forms
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A negative cloud-to-ground flash. Scroll slows the sequence for observation.
- 01
Charge
Collisions inside a thundercloud separate electrical charge, building the field that will drive the discharge.
- 02
Leaders
A faint, branching stepped leader moves down. Near the ground, short positive streamers reach upward.
- 03
Connection
One streamer meets the descending leader. A conducting path now joins the cloud to the ground.
- 04
Return stroke
The bright return front travels from ground to cloud. Negative charge flows toward the ground along the channel.
- 05
Afterglow
The channel fades. A real flash can contain further strokes. This study isolates one discharge for inspection.
About this scene+
The coast and weather are authored. Distant flashes run independently of the timeline. Their thunder arrives later and softer.
Sound is optional. The rain and thunder come from Peter’s recording of a storm in Tampa.
This is a visual study, not a numerical weather prediction.
Read NOAA's lightning guide ↗