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Ever notice how most batteries have little plus (+) symbol on their tops and minus symbol (-) on their bottom? A storm cloud is like a fluffy battery- the most powerful battery on Earth. Drops of rain and bits of ice blow and fall within the cloud, bumping against one another to create static electricity. Positively charged particles rise to the cloud's top, while negatively charged particles sing to the lower levels. The difference between positive and negative particles build up a current, which arc through the air as INTRA CLOUD LIGHTING, the most common type of lightning. The much more dangerous CLOUD-TO-GROUND lightning works it's way downwards from the negatively charged lower levels of a cloud(or, in some cases, from the positively charged tippy top.) through a STEPPED LEADER, a series of negative charges. The trip down steps happen faster than the blink of eye: around 200,000 mph,(320,000 kph). Once the stepped leader gets within 150 feet(46 m) or so the surface, it connects with the positive jolt of electricity that rises through an object on the ground, such as tree, building, tower, or even you(if you're silly enough to stand outside during a storm). This upward surge is called a STREAMER and it's the flash of lightning you see with your eyes. When it connects with the leader, it creates a channel to conduct electricity of Earth to cloud. Zzzzzt! Krakow! Lightning can carry up to a billion volts of electricity-about 50,000 times the current of a typical industrial electrical accident.
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