No such thing as lightning generated by heat
ORLANDO, Fla. – Is heat lightning a thing? Kind of, but not in the sense you might think.
You’re sitting on your porch on a clear, warm summer night, and off in the distance you see a flash of lightning, but you don’t hear thunder. This is commonly referred to as heat lightning, but it’s not actually lightning generated by heat.
In reality, it is just lightning produced by a distant thunderstorm. The light is then reflected off of higher-level clouds, allowing it to be seen from great distances. The observer is simply too far away to hear the thunder associated with the lightning.
Typically, the sound of thunder only travels approximately ten miles.
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You will notice this a lot as our daily and highly-electrified sea breeze storms get going. As the storms push way off into the sea as night falls, you’ll likely see the lightning way off in the distance, but hear no thunder. The skies could even be crystal clear where you are!
It’s just the same old lightning, but so far away you can’t hear the thunder.
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About the Author:
Jonathan Kegges
Jonathan Kegges joined the News 6 team in June 2019 as the Weekend Morning Meteorologist. Jonathan comes from Roanoke, Virginia where he covered three EF-3 tornadoes and deadly flooding brought on by Hurricanes Florence and Michael.
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