heat lightningAlthough heat lightning is considered a misnomer of sorts, it refers to a distinct lightning type; specifically, those faint flashes on the horizon or its adjacent clouds. Basically, it’s a reflection of distant thunderstorms with no associated thunder. The phenomenon happens when the lightning is very far away so the sound has already “dissolved” before reaching the sky gazer.

A non-threatening celestial event, heat lightning can be visible from approximately one hundred miles away. Besides offering a striking display in the distance, heat lightening can also be the harbinger of storms on their way. Here in Florida, once you’ve enjoyed one of its spectacular sunsets, the skies over the waters will put on a light show courtesy of flashes caused by the remnants of the day’s storms.

A few interesting facts about Heat Lightning according to Buzzle.com:

  • It occurs in summers and especially on hot summer nights. Hence, it is named so.
  • The Earth’s curvature, airborne elements like snow or dust, etc., can muffle the sound of the thunder.
  • Heat lightning can be seen all over the world. It is especially common in the mountainous regions.
  • Just because you cannot hear the thunder, does not mean you are not at a risk of getting struck by the lightning. Remember that light travels faster than sound.
  • Light travels much faster and to a farther distance. Hence, a lightning can be seen but a thunder cannot be heard if the distance is too great.

Regarding the debate surrounding the name “heat lightning”, the weather masters at AccuWeather.com state that it is actually an “old wives’ tale that gives this lightning type its name and that it is not true that “a hot, humid summer night can generate lightning without a thunderstorm, called “heat lighting,” is exactly that–a meteorological myth. Heat lightning is just normal lightning from a thunderstorm too far away for the sounds of thunder to be transmitted.”

Another factor to consider with heat or any other type of lightning is that it does not occur in a vacuum. The way sound and light travel in our atmosphere depends on properties like temperature and density. As they are variables, the sound of thunder is refracted. It bounces off the Earth’s surface against all of its irregular terrain.

As a company that provides global protection from all the types of lightning with our static and structural lightning protection solutions, bonding and grounding, and surge protection devices, we are well acquainted with lightning’s power and the danger it poses to facilities.

Additionally, because it is our business to know facts such as these: Every year workplace injuries cost the economy 198.2 billion dollars.

At Lightning Master we work with you to protect not just your facilities, but also your work force. These electrical charges put on a beautiful display and their accompanying thunder reminds us of the power of Mother Nature. At the end of the day, lightning of any kind is an element of our atmosphere for which we should have the utmost respect and avail our facilities accordingly.

heat lightning cloud