Why does it rain harder after lightning

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Windows are hazardous for two reasons: wind generated during a thunderstorm can blow objects into the window, breaking it and causing glass to shatter and second, in older homes, in rare instances, lightning can come in cracks in the sides of windows. Myth : If thunderstorms threaten while you are outside playing a game, it is okay to finish it before seeking shelter.

Fact: Many lightning casualties occur because people do not seek shelter soon enough. No game is worth death or life-long injuries. Seek proper shelter immediately if you hear thunder. Adults are responsible for the safety of children. Myth : Structures with metal, or metal on the body jewelry, cell phones,Mp3 players, watches, etc , attract lightning. Fact: Height, pointy shape, and isolation are the dominant factors controlling where a lightning bolt will strike.

The presence of metal makes absolutely no difference on where lightning strikes. Mountains are made of stone but get struck by lightning many times a year. While metal does not attract lightning, it does conduct it so stay away from metal fences, railing, bleachers, etc. Myth : If trapped outside and lightning is about to strike, I should lie flat on the ground. Fact: Lying flat increases your chance of being affected by potentially deadly ground current.

If you are caught outside in a thunderstorm, you keep moving toward a safe shelter. They are found near a moving cold front when warm, moist air rises and cools.

They can look strange because they are entirely separate from the thunderstorm. Also called an arc cloud, these clouds sit in thunderstorms, and mark the boundary between warm air moving up and cold air moving down. Steam can hover over water when cold air comes into contact with warm water. This kind of fog is more likely to happen in winter.

Once it gets above that height, meteorologists refer to it as blowing snow. Snow can drift or blow during a storm or after the snow has stopped falling. If the ground is already covered in snow, fresh snowfall under gray clouds can make the landscape blur together. Travel can become dangerous or impossible when this happens.

It gets the name vortex because it turns counterclockwise, like a hurricane. When this low-pressure air system is weakened, which can happen when temperatures are warm, the polar vortex can push cold air south.

This is likely to happen more often with climate change. When snow accumulates, it holds onto sound waves. When warm air from the ground rises into an atmosphere that is below freezing, it can cause electrical charges to separate. Lightning can strike during a snowstorm when the charge needs to be equalized, just like in a summer thunderstorm.

And since snow dampens sound, thunder may be hard to hear even when it happens. It can happen when the ground gets full of water or ice. This can freeze the soil and rock around it, which makes a loud noise if it cracks. When mountain snow melts in the spring and summer, water from the snowpack flows down into streams and reservoirs below.

If it snows less than usual, or warm temperatures melt snow before it can build up, it means less water is available during the hot months. This can be detrimental to anything that depends on that water supply: farmers, fisheries, and outdoor tourism like skiing or river rafting. The raindrops freeze and turn into balls of ice.

When they get heavier than the updraft, gravity pulls them to the ground. These are little balls of ice that form when cool water droplets wrap around a snowflake.

Written by: Keri Wiginton. Republish this story. Why does lightning strike? And answers to 50 other weather questions. Why does thunder come after lightning? What is a haboob? What is a bomb cyclone? Can weather changes really cause a headache? Why does humidity make people sweat more? What does wind chill mean? Why is cold weather dangerous? What is the difference between climate and weather? Why are thunderstorms worse in spring? Why does global warming make blizzards stronger?

Why is flooding worse in spring? Can the weather make arthritis worse? What are heat islands? What is acid rain? What is a firenado? It's probably not your imagination, but it's not the thunder that causes the increase in rainfall intensity. It's the lightning that produced the thunder. It has been shown that, in some cases, a "rain gush" occurs in the seconds following a flash of lightning.