79 Electrifying Facts about Lightning [Free Fact Cards]

Have you ever been caught in a storm and found yourself fascinated by the incredible display of lightning zigzagging across the sky? Well, you’re in for a treat because we’re about to dive into the jaw-dropping world of lightning with these facts about lightning.

blue background with white text "facts about lightning" with 4 yellow lightning bolts

Did you know that lightning is basically a massive electrical discharge? Think of it like a static shock, one that happens when storm clouds and the ground play “hot potato” with electrical charges. This exchange lights up the sky in a way that’s both awe-inspiring and a little frightful at times.

You might think lightning is a rare occurrence, but guess what? It’s estimated that there are about 44 flashes per second worldwide. That’s over 1.4 billion lightning strikes a year!

Lightning does not just strike during thunderstorms, volcanic eruptions, intense forest fires, and even heavy snowstorms can produce lightning.

Lightning does have a BFF: thunder. You cannot have one without the other. When lightning strikes, it heats up the air to be almost five times hotter than the surface of the sun; this then causes the air to expand rapidly, creating the BOOM known as thunder.

So, dive deeper into the electrifying facts about lightning. Strap in because this will be a high-voltage ride through one of nature’s most astonishing spectacles. Let’s get started!

Facts About Lightning

When lightning strikes sand or sandy soil, it fuses together the grains to create a small glass-like tube known as a fulgurite.
Lightning is extremely hot—a flash can heat the air around it five times hotter than the sun’s surface.
Lightning strikes can explode a tree
A bolt of lightning can petrify in the sand or a rock. The resulting object is called a fulgurite, rarer in rocks than in sand.
A typical lightning bolt can contain up to 1 billion volts of electricity.

white background, blue border saying facts about lightning with a image of 3 lightnings

Radar is a good way to measure a lightning bolt.
Lightning discharges occur about 8 million times a day worldwide.
An estimated 44 lightning bolts erupt around the world every single second.
A Lake in Venezuela Experiences the Most Lightning per Year.
A single lightning bolt can power an incandescent light bulb for six months.

white background, blue border saying facts about lightning with a image of thin thunder

Most people are struck by lightning before it starts raining or after it stops raining.
Lightning can initiate forest fires by heating up dry vegetation.
Volcano eruptions cause lightning strikes.
Cumulonimbus clouds generate the most lightning out of any cloud on Earth.
Lightning strikes 8.6 million times a day

white background, blue border saying facts about lightning with a image of color blue lightning bolt

Lightning strikes hundreds of times per hour over one South American lake.
Lightning repeatedly strikes the same place, especially if it’s a tall, pointy, isolated object. The Empire State Building is hit an average of 23 times a year
Lightning bolts are narrow.
Scientists have recorded bursts of low-frequency radio waves accompanying lightning strikes.
Certain human activities can also generate lightning.

Tornado weather systems also generate especially powerful lightning bolts.
A “dry lightning” strike occurs when lightning produces little to no rain.
Being struck by lightning gives you a rash.
Singapore also suffers up to 11,500 lightning strikes every year.
Lightning can generate electromagnetic pulses that disrupt electronic devices and systems.

Lightning creates heat hotter than the sun.
Lightning can occur between clouds, within, or between clouds and the ground.
A house is a safe place to be during a thunderstorm if you avoid anything that conducts electricity.
“Red sprites” are electrical discharges that occur above thunderstorms and extend into space.
Lightning can strike up to 25 miles away from the storm’s center.

Lightning finds the fastest route to Earth
Lightning can trigger migraines and other neurological symptoms in sensitive individuals.
Lightning can appear purple due to atmospheric conditions and scattering of light.
Lightning can also strike up from the ground and into the sky.
A man claimed lightning restored his sight.

There are 50 to 100 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes every second worldwide; that’s over 3 million daily strikes!
The “spark gap” in lightning rods allows a path of least resistance for lightning.
Lightning strikes can initiate rockfalls and landslides on mountainsides.
The tallest lightning rod ever installed was on the Burj Khalifa at 2,722 feet.
A single lightning bolt can have as much as 1 billion Joules of energy.

Florida is the lightning capital of the U.S., averaging thunderstorms 70-100 days per year.
The speed of lightning is 270,000 mph.
Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground or within the clouds.
In Florida, on average, lightning kills ten and injures 40 people annually.
Lightning strikes during thunderstorms kill more Americans yearly than tornadoes or hurricanes.

Crouching doesn’t make you any safer outdoors.
Technically, lighting itself doesn’t have a temperature.
A lightning bolt is five times hotter than the sun
Lightning bolts can travel up to 5 km from inside a cloud to strike at the ground.
People with asthma are at greater risk of an attack during summer thunderstorms.

You can’t have thunder without lightning.
Climate change may affect lightning generation worldwide.
Lightning can trigger sudden releases of gamma rays in Earth’s atmosphere.
Kifuka in the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffers the most lightning strikes globally, at 158 lightning strikes for every km² in a year.
If lightning strikes a sandy beach, it can turn a small portion of the sand into icicle-shaped pieces of glass called fulgurites.

Positive lightning also travels much farther than negative lightning.
Lightning bolts can have a diameter of about 1 to 2 inches.
Lightning can also strike aircraft in flight.
90% of people survive lightning strikes
A lightning bolt can reach 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit, about five times hotter than the surface of our sun.

The extreme heat of a lightning strike causes nitrogen to bond with oxygen to create nitrogen oxides, which combine with moisture in the air to fall as rain and water plants with nitrate-rich water.
The energy of a lightning strike can produce shockwaves known as “thundersnow.”
Bolts Are Long but Incredibly Skinny
Cameras aren’t effective at capturing lightning.
Lightning can influence chemical reactions in the atmosphere, affecting ozone levels.

Light travels at a staggering 186,282 miles per second. But sound travels much slower, at about 1 mile every 5 seconds.
The irrational fear of thunder and lightning has various names: Astraphobia, Brontophobia, and Keraunophobia.
In Venezuela, there’s something called “Catatumbo” lightning, where almost constant lightning strikes, averaging over 100 strikes per hour.
In the U.S., on average, lightning kills 93 and injures 300 annually.
When lightning strikes sand or sandy soil, it fuses together the grains to create a small glass-like tube known as a fulgurite.

Standing underneath or near a tree is the second most dangerous place during a thunderstorm; the most dangerous is being outside in an open space.
Anvil crawler lightning is a special kind of Intracloud (IC) Lightning.
Thunder is the rapid expansion of air around a lightning strike.
Lightning’s color can vary based on atmospheric conditions and the composition of gases.
Ball lightning is a special kind of lightning.

Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment in 1752 helped demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning.
The strike happens in under 2 microseconds (that’s 0.000002 seconds).
The energy in a lightning bolt could power an electric car for about 30,000 miles.
One bolt of lightning once killed 81 people.

Did you know even more fascinating facts about lightning? Share them in the comments so we can learn, too!

Are you looking for more fun and engaging facts to share with your family? Check out these other posts for more facts!

How Do I Print A PDF?

You’ll need a program that supports PDFs. Adobe Acrobat is a great option. Open the program, click file, then print. Select your printer and the number of copies you want to print. Be sure you click double-sided if you want it to print on both sides.

Can I Resell These?

You may not resell any printable that you find on our website or in our resource library. You may use them for class parties, at church, at home, or in the classroom. You may get these printed at an office supply store or copy center at your own expense.

Facts About Lightning

Are you looking for more fun and engaging facts to share with your family? Check out these other posts for more facts!

How Do I Print A PDF?

Can I Resell These?

Leave a Comment Cancel reply