Heat lightning vs lightning in a thunderstorm?

Question

where i live heat heat lightning happens ALL the time and i was just wondering:

1) what causes it?

2) why don't you hear thunder?

3) why do you see flahes of light instead of lightning bolts?

4) and why is it called "heat" lightning if it's 68 degrees out right now... that's not hot, i'm sure there must be something more to it than just the heat.

if someone could answer all the above questions in layman's terms i'd appreciate it. thanks!

Answer 1

It's probably more like dry lightening.  Lightening is a result of a difference in positive and negative charges on the ground and in the sky.  It's natures way of balancing the equation.  And thunder is the result of rapidly expanding the air around a lightning bolt.  The bolt is so hot, that it causes the air directly surrounding it to expand quickly causing a mini sonic boom.  Dry conditions cause the charges on the ground to become more negative, and the sky more positive, and the lightining is just a result the system trying to balance the charges.

Answer 2

There is no such thing as "heat lightning." All that you are seeing is lightning from a distant thunderstorm that is so far away from you that you can not hear thunder.  This is a misconception among most people and that is how it got the term "heat lightning." At night on a clear night you can see lightning up to 100 miles away.  Here is a good site on lightning.

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/lightnin...

Answer 3

Heat lightning has nothing to do with how warm temperatures are on a summer's night. It is actually lightning seen from a distant thunderstorm too far away for the thunder to be heard.