What Causes Thunder And Lightning? | Thunderstorm | Video For Kids ★ Tested & Working

Nature likes things to be balanced. When the bottom of the cloud gets too full of negative charges, it wants to get rid of them. It looks for something with a positive charge to connect with, like the ground, a tree, or even another cloud.

When they crash together, they create —the same kind of electricity that makes your hair stand up if you rub a balloon on your head or gives you a little "zap" when you touch a doorknob after walking on carpet. The positive charges move to the top of the cloud, and the negative charges move to the bottom. The Flash: Lightning Nature likes things to be balanced

You might notice that you always see the lightning before you hear the thunder. That’s because . It’s like a race where the light is a superhero flying at top speed, and the sound is a person jogging behind. When they crash together, they create —the same

It all starts inside a big, fluffy thunderstorm cloud called a . Inside these clouds, the air is moving very fast. Bits of ice and raindrops are bumping into each other like bumper cars. That’s because

Because lightning is so hot, it heats up the air around it instantly. When air gets hot that fast, it expands (pushes outward) very quickly, like a balloon popping. This creates a huge sound wave that travels through the sky. That sound is what we call . Fun Fact: Why do we see the light first?

When that connection happens— ZAP! —a giant spark of electricity shoots through the air. That is . Lightning is incredibly hot—even hotter than the surface of the sun! The Boom: Thunder