What Causes Earth’s Strongest Lightning Known as ‘Superbolts’? – Watts Up With That?

What Causes Earth’s Strongest Lightning Known as ‘Superbolts’?

A massive lightning bolt strikes during a thunderstorm in Mainz, Germany. Some countries in northern Europe and near the Mediterranean Sea are particularly prone to superbolt strikes because storms’ charging zones tend to be closer to the Earth’s surface, a new study in JGR Atmospheres reports. Credit: Oliver Schlenczek (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

When a storm’s charging zone sits close to the earth’s surface, the resulting “superbolts” can be 1,000 times stronger than regular lightning.