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Once many years ago, I saw lightning flashing inside a cumulus mediocres cloud. I always figured that lightning never ocurred in a cloud, unless it was a mature cumulonimbus cloud.
I remember that this happened on a summer evening, and it was cool for that time of year. The dewpoints that evening, were comfortable for summertime in the midwest (only in the mid-50s). There were only a few small, benign-looking cumulus mediocres clouds around.
As it was getting dark that evening, I suddenly saw a flicker of lightning, that came from inside one of the cumulus mediocres clouds. The flash illuminated the cloud, and it was so surprising to see. We never even got any thundershowers in the area that evening, either.
Has anybody else out there, ever seen a flash of lightning come from inside a cumulus mediocres cloud??
What you saw was probably an elevated-base thunderstorm occuring, whereby the cloud itself is relatively shallow, but the upper portions of the cloud take advantage of cold enough atmospheric temperatures that ice crystals and supercooled rain droplets occur in large enough numbers to allow charge seperation (hence lightning) to be possible, along with sufficient updraft speed.
These often occur when a very dry, warm airmass forms a "dryline" front with a much more humid airmass, that is the typical situation in the midwest.
This vid shows an example of the kind of thing you may be describing, though in S California:
A very shallow, but high based thunderstorm. It looks disproportionately small compared with the lightning it's spewing out! But you can be sure that any time a cloud produces lightning and has the supercooled rain droplets and ice crysyals in its upper portions it is a Cumulonimbus Cloud. Some can really be that small, clearly!
Last edited by Weatherfan2; 12-26-2010 at 06:51 AM..
What you saw was probably an elevated-base thunderstorm occuring, whereby the cloud itself is relatively shallow, but the upper portions of the cloud take advantage of cold enough atmospheric temperatures that ice crystals and supercooled rain droplets occur in large enough numbers to allow charge seperation (hence lightning) to be possible, along with sufficient updraft speed.
These often occur when a very dry, warm airmass forms a "dryline" front with a much more humid airmass, that is the typical situation in the midwest.
This vid shows an example of the kind of thing you may be describing, though in S California:
A very shallow, but high based thunderstorm. It looks disproportionately small compared with the lightning it's spewing out! But you can be sure that any time a cloud produces lightning and has the supercooled rain droplets and ice crysyals in its upper portions it is a Cumulonimbus Cloud. Some can really be that small, clearly!
No, this cloud was definitely a cumulus mediocres cloud, and NOT a high-based thunderstorm. It was a very small cloud, and certainly not mature enough to be any kind of thunderstorm. Plus, the lightning came from inside the cloud itself itself, and not from any nearby clouds.
And there was no dry-line, since this ocurred in the midwest, and the dry-lines occur in the plains states. Thanks for the explanation, but it's just not plausible.
No, this cloud was definitely a cumulus mediocres cloud, and NOT a high-based thunderstorm. It was a very small cloud, and certainly not mature enough to be any kind of thunderstorm. Plus, the lightning came from inside the cloud itself itself, and not from any nearby clouds.
And there was no dry-line, since this ocurred in the midwest, and the dry-lines occur in the plains states. Thanks for the explanation, but it's just not plausible.
No idea then. Your description of what you saw doesn't sound very plausible either.
Look, you can find numerous scientific studies proving that for lightning to occur there must be temperatures below -15°C to facilitate super-cooling of raindroplets of formation of ice crystals in a cumuliform cloud, along with sufficient updraft speeds, to produce the necessary charge seperation. Cumulus Mediocris does not produce lightning. Developing Cumulus Congestus does, occasionally, when it starts to reach the height whereby supercooling of raindroplets occur, and depending on the lapse rates that can be quite low altitude. End of.
No idea then. Your description of what you saw doesn't sound very plausible either.
Look, you can find numerous scientific studies proving that for lightning to occur there must be temperatures below -15°C to facilitate super-cooling of raindroplets of formation of ice crystals in a cumuliform cloud, along with sufficient updraft speeds, to produce the necessary charge seperation. Cumulus Mediocris does not produce lightning. Developing Cumulus Congestus does, occasionally, when it starts to reach the height whereby supercooling of raindroplets occur, and depending on the lapse rates that can be quite low altitude. End of.
This must of been an exceptional cumulus mediocres cloud, because it DID produce a flicker of lightning inside the cloud. I think your explanation of how lightning forms is valid. But based on what I saw, it just goes to show that there are exceptions to the scientific rule.
Those cloud formations are Toronto's most common cloud forms on a partly-cloudy day.
No precipitation falls from these clouds normally when they're in the Toronto area.
I have seen crazy lightning inside a cloud at least once though.
The best show was in Myrtle Beach, SC in August at 2am out over the ocean.
This must of been an exceptional cumulus mediocres cloud, because it DID produce a flicker of lightning inside the cloud. I think your explanation of how lightning forms is valid. But based on what I saw, it just goes to show that there are exceptions to the scientific rule.
I remember that I have heard of one or two cases of a cloud without significant ice crystal development which produced a lightning discharge. But it was somewhere in a mountainous area where because of the elevated terrain there was very little resistance to overcome between the cloud and the ground.
I think even what you saw can be explained somehow by science but the answer may just not be known yet.
I remember that I have heard of one or two cases of a cloud without significant ice crystal development which produced a lightning discharge. But it was somewhere in a mountainous area where because of the elevated terrain there was very little resistance to overcome between the cloud and the ground.
I think even what you saw can be explained somehow by science but the answer may just not be known yet.
I think that weather scientists may find the answer, if they decide to study cumulus mediocres clouds more thoroughly. Hopefully they'll discover the answer some day.
I read an article once, where a fighter pilot saw what turned out to be sprites and blue jets, that scientists had not discovered yet. They now know what sprites and blue jets, are a form of lightning which shoots up out of the top of a large thunderhead.
in the mid 1970s me and my father were standing near our garden when he goes hey son look at that.. so i looked up and saw something that was so cool and i have never forgotten it even though i was a kid then. we lived in charlotte north carolina not far from the city but still slightly rural back then so there were no mountains or any dryline. this small round little cumulus cloud was riding very low in the sky and was producing very vivid and continuous internal lightning it didnt have a flat base and was moving very quickly across the sky i dont recall any big storms that day but i guess there could have been some around but from what i recall it was by itself and it was about dusk so it stood out very nicely against the sky. for years i thought maybe i had dreamed it and my father is deceased now so i could not ask him. hearing your question validates me and im glad to tell you this story. its nice to know it was real. also ther was no thunder or any external sparking that i recall thats why it remained so mysterious to me all these years. Eric E. Nunn
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yes you are correct
