Why doesn't lightning always hit the ground?

Question

I don't mean hitting buildings or trees or that I just mean why doesn't it sometimes hit Earth? Also would it be possible for a plane to be hit if it was flying below that level of clouds?

first answerer i already knew that...

Answer 1

Lightning can hit a plane if it is above the cloud surface. Lightning travels from a region with one particular electric charge to a region of the opposite electric charge, no matter the direction. So if a plane with a positive charge is flying above a storm cloud with a negative charge there is a possibility that lightning will jump from the cloud to the plane, given that the charges built up are great enough.

ps- lightning can even go from the ground to a cloud

Answer 2

Lightning doesn't always start in the sky and go down - sometimes it starts on the ground and goes up. There's all kinds of lightning.

Lightning is cool.

" name Sebastien
status other
age 20s

Question - First excuse my English cause I speak french. I heard that lightnings strike from the ground to the clouds. Is that true?

Dear Sebastien-

In response to your question about lightning, this is a copy of an answer to a similiar question I posted a few days ago...


You are correct in assuming that lightning can "strike" from the ground up. In fact, lightning does strike from different directions with each stroke..! The development of a bolt of lightning is very interesting. I won't go into all the details here, but a cloud-to-ground lightning bolt begins from the cloud in a series of "stepped leaders." As these leaders near the ground, a powerful "return stroke" of positive charge rushes up from the ground (at a speed up to 60,000 mph, or about 1/3 the speed of light) to meet the stepped leader. These static charges travel back and forth between the cloud and
ground until the electrical potential is neutralized.

Three types of lightning are common... cloud-to-ground, cloud-to-cloud, and in-cloud. So lightning can travel up, down, and even sideways..!

Wendell Bechtold, meteorologist
Forecaster, National Weather Service
Weather Forecast Office, St. Louis, MO"

Planes average 1 lightning strike per year. I can't imagine the orientation of the cloud to the plane matters much.

Answer 3

lightening indeed, does hit the earth more so than trees, or buildings or anything else.

Yes, an airplane can be hit by lightening, in fact the airplane has discharge strips to release any oppostite charge that might accumulate due to air friction and electron gathering from clouds.

Answer 4

No, no longer consistently. Lightning may be cloud to floor, cloud to cloud, and interior of clouds. Over 80% of lightning strikes easily take position interior the cloud or cloud to cloud. lights can alway hit timber,vehicles,buses,homes,and far of different issues even human beings. wish I Helped, Me

Answer 5

Lightning is always attracted to the tallest objects like trees or buildings, understand?

Answer 6

Everything you ever wanted to know about lightning
go here

http://sky-fire.tv/index.cgi/lightning.html