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Lightning Info:

Lightning is a massive natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. Lightning's abrupt electric discharge is accompanied by the emission of light. Lightning produces a sound from the electricity passing through the atmosphere (referred to as "thunder"). Lightning is formed when ice crystals inside cumulonimbus clouds rub against one another due to the strong updrafts in these clouds, thus building up a strong static charge. Positively charged crystals tend to rise to the top causing the cloud top to build up a positive static charge and negatively charged crystals and hail stones drop to the middle and bottom layers of the cloud building up a negative static charge. Cumulonimbus clouds that do not produce enough ice crystals usually fail to produce enough static electricity to cause lightning.

There are various types of Lightning. Intracloud lightning is the most common type of lightning which occurs completely inside one cumulonimbus cloud, jumping between different charged regions within the cloud. Cloud-to-ground lightning is a lightning discharge between a cumulonimbus cloud and the ground initiated by the downward-moving leader stroke. This is the second most common type of lightning. Ground-to-cloud lightning is a lightning discharge between the ground and a cumulonimbus cloud from an upward-moving leader stroke. Most ground-to-cloud lightning occurs off of tall buildings, mountains and towers.