St. Elmo's fire is most likely to occur
at the top of a tall dead tree
The upper part of a thunderstorm cloud is normally ____ charged, and the middle and lower parts are ____ charged.
positively, negatively
Distant lightning that is so far away you cannot hear the thunder is called:
heat lightning
An important principle in the electrification of a cumulonimbus cloud is that:
there is a net transfer of positive ions from a warmer object to a colder object
A cloud-to-ground lightning discharge will sometimes appear to flicker. This is because:
You are able to distinguish separate return strokes
What would be the proper sequence of events in a lightning flash?
stepped leader, return stroke, dart leader, return stroke
You are generally safe inside an automobile during a lighting storm because
the metal car body will carry the lightning current around the passengers inside
In cloud-to-ground lightning, the stepped leader travels ____ and the return stroke travels ____.
downward, upwards
A second surge of electrons that proceeds from the base of a cloud toward the ground during cloud-to-ground lightning is called a:
Dart leader
Thunder is caused by:
the rapid heating of air surrounding a lightning channel