Ligtning

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