What is heat lightning?

Answer 1

THERE IS NO SUCH THING!!!!!
But what people call heat lighting is true lighting that is occurring at a distance near sun set or sun raise. It takes that reddish Orange color because it is going through a lot of the atmosphere and the light rays get reflected, absorbed, or scattered. The light rays that reach your eyes are the red and orange rays. Hope this helps and yes I am a meteorologist with a degree in Atmospheric Sciences. Any other questions email me.

Answer 2

I found this info from a site called "The Weather Doctor":

Heat Lightning

Question: I have heard a lot about heat lightning. What is it?

Answer:

Folk weather mythology suggests heat lightning is caused solely by hot air expanding until it sparks on sultry summer nights. You will also find many credible sources telling you that heat lightning does not exist. But, this is mostly a matter of semantics.

Heat lightning is not a unique form of lightning, but normal thunderstorm lightning that flashes too far away from the observer for its thunder to be heard. It is most commonly seen as sheet lightning.

During hot, humid weather, scattered, rather short-lived thunderstorms may pop up across a region driven by the heat and humidity. Some, during their lifetimes, may travel overhead, bringing heat-relieving rain and a brief, cooling wind. Then there are those which pass a long distance from us whose presence is only noted by its towering cumulonimbus and flashes of lightning.

Because scattered thunderstorms do not produce a sky-filling cloud deck, we have a long line of sight through the mostly clear air, often extending to the horizon. Therefore, we can see the high levels of thunderstorms even at distances below the horizon.

Within those remote thunderstorms, when the lightning bolts flash, their light can be seen as far as 160 kilometres (100 miles) distant, depending on the height of the bolt within the cloud, the clarity of the air between us and the bolt, and our elevation above the ground. Thunder, in comparison, has a much shorter range of detection — usually less than 25 km (15 miles) in a quiet rural setting and under 8 km (5 miles) in a noisy city environment.

Therefore, we see the lightning, but do not hear the thunder — a situation we have taken to call heat lightning.

Learn More From These Books Chosen by The Weather Doctor
Williams, Jack: The Weather Book, 1997, Vintage Books, ISBN 0-679-77665-6.
Dunlop, Storm: The Weather Identification Handbook: The Ultimate Guide for Weather Watchers,, 2003, The Lyons Press, ISBN 1585748579. (pb).

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Answer 3

If a lightning strike is a sufficient distance from the observer, sound from the strike will not be heard. These silent bolts are called heat lightning. Lightning bolts produce thunder, but the thunder sound does not travel all the way to the observer if the observer is too far away.

The movement of sound in the atmosphere depends on the atmospheric properties of the air such as temperature and density. Because temperature and density change with height, the sound of thunder is refracted through the troposphere. This refraction results in spaces of volume in which the thunder does not propagate through.

The sound of thunder often reflects off the earth's surface. The rumbling sound from thunder is partly due to reflections off the earth's surface. This reflection and refraction leaves voids where thunder can not be heard.

The earth's curvature also contributes to people far from the strike from not hearing it. Thunder is more likely to be bounced off the earth's surface before it reaches an observer far from the strike. With this said, the right refraction and reflection can result in people on the earth's surface being able to hear thunder at very far distances from the storm. The reflection and refraction in the troposphere determines who hears the strike and who doesn't.

The term "heat" in heat lighting has little to do with temperature. Since heat lightning is most likely to be seen in association with air mass thunderstorms in the warm season, the term "heat" may have been used because these flashes are often seen when surface temperatures are warm.

Answer 4

Heat Lightning is a form of lightning when the clouds/sky flashes and you dont see any 'bolts' of lightning.

Answer 5

LeeJ is absolutely correct. Heat lightning is only lightning happening elsewhere and you can't hear the thunder. That's all it is!

Answer 6

Heat Lightning is lightning that is so far away that you can't hear the thunder it produces.

Answer 7

It is not called heat lightning. It is called sheet lightning, as there is no bolt.

Answer 8

heat lightning is caused from humidity. on extremly hot days when it is humid and then a cold front moves in, you get heat lightning

Answer 9

It is commonly known as sheet lightning

Answer 10

When the weather is hot and dry it creates friction in the air - making an electrical current - lightening.