why don't we see lightning from nimbostratus clouds??

Answer 1

Good question. I believe the answer is because nimbostratus, meaning layed clouds which produce rain, are not clouds of vertical development. Stratus clouds are stable, meaning that if they are lifted they settle back to their original level. It takes clouds of vertical development, like cumulonimbus, to separate the electrical charges in a cloud which will subsequently discharge in a flash of cloud to cloud or cloud to ground or ground to cloud lightening.

Answer 2

To answer this question best, I need to start with how lightning forms.

As ice crystals become too heavy to stay suspended in a cloud, they begin to fall toward the ground. Since there are so many little ice crystals, they sometimes collide in what are called glancing collisions. These glancing collisions create an electrical imbalance in the cloud, and makes the bottom of the cloud negatively charged. The positive charges on the ground are attracted to the negative charges in the cloud, and they tend to pile up on the tallest object on the ground (this is why you don't want to be the tallest this in the area during a thunderstorm. it's also why so many trees get struck). Once the positive charges and negative charges meet, a faint zig-zaggy line is formed in between them. This is called a stepped-leader. Next, the super-heated air is seen as a flash (lightning) and transformed by your ears into a rumble (thunder).

So to answer your question, a cloud needs to be tall enough for many glancing collisions to take place in the cloud, and since nimbostratus clouds are generally not very tall, lightning can't form there.

Answer 3

Nimbostratus Clouds

Answer 4

I answered this a few days ago. Here is the same answer:

Nimbostratus is a thick stratiform cloud that can produce heavy rain. It has little vertical motion insuide the cloud and lacks the structure of a cumulonimbus cloud which does produce lightning. It forms differently from cumulonimbus. Without the strong updrafts in the cloud, the electrical potential is not created and lightning does not occur.

Answer 5

The clue is in the word stratus. These are layer clouds. Most lightning comes form cumuliform clouds, especially form old friend Cb (Cumulonimbus) Thes contain massive amounts of energy and can tower tens of thousands of feet