Cory+Atterberry

= Lightning ! =

= What happens during a lightning strike? = ===During a storm a substance in clouds causes negative and positive charges to separate. About 75% of lightning discharges remain in a cloud after a single strike. Each year in the U.S alone lightning hits the ground about 25 million times. In a lightning storm high energy radiation, x-rays and gamma rays are released into the air.Certain types of types such as the common ones, may never leave the clouds they just travel between their clouds. Almost everything bolt of lightning contains up to one billion volts of electricity.===

= How hot can a single strike of lightning get? = ===Lightning can heat the air around up to 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit! That is almost twice the temperature of the suns surface. Lightning is so hot that whenever it strikes a single tree it will likely set it to fire. Although lightning contains so much each and energy, earth still gets most of it's energy from the sun than a strike of lightning.===

= Where does most lightning strike? = ===Lightning tends to strike most often during the summer, therefore Africa, where it is summer year round, lightning occurs mostly there. Africa receives more than 200 bolts of lightning in just a single year. Most effective lightning typically occurs above city skylines.===

== = Injuries from a lightning strike. = ===About 275 people who get struck by lightning each year suffer from frequent heart attacks which lead to death or they will have to get plastic surgery to replace the skin that was burnt from the lightning. Many injuries from lightning occur when people walk by water or stand around metal during a storm. Nearly 2,000 people a year are killed from lightning strikes.IF you were to survive from a lightning strike you may suffer from symptoms such as,memory loss, dizziness, weakness, and numbness.===

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= What Causes Lightning? = ===Lightning is produced when liquid and ice particles, that are above freezing level collide, and they tend too build up large electrical clouds. Once theses electrical fields become large enough a giant spark occurs between them like static electricity.Lightning is caused from an imbalance of positive and electrical discharges.=== = Lightning Safety! =

===To avoid a lightning injury or death try to avoid being outdoors during any kind of a storm. Waters are a certain striking point for most lightning. You should have an evacuation plan if lightning strikes. If you indoors avoid talking on the phone, doing the dishes, taking showers or baths, turn off or unplug computers, t.v., and power tools. You should know your emergency phone number at all times. People who have been stuck by lightning do not have an electrical charge in them after being hit by lightning, so it is okay to pick them up and carry them to safety, and treat them with first aid till the paramedics get there.===

=LINKS!!=

http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_causes_lightning.htm http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_does_lightning_come_from.htm http://www.weatherquestions.com/lightning_injuries.htm