Photo Gallery: Lightning

Connecticut Lightning

Connecticut LightningCloud-to-cloud lightning lights up the night sky over a small town in Connecticut.
Lightning at Night, Walton, NebraskaWhips of lightning crack the sky near rural Walton, Nebraska. Because a flash of lightning is actually multiple strokes that occur in a fraction of a second, time exposure photographs like this best capture these rapid-fire displays.
ASante Fe Trail branch of orange lightning strikes the ground under red-tinged clouds at night along the Sante Fe trail.
Chimney Rock, ColoradoA horizontal bolt of lightning tries to lasso Chimney Rock, also called Jackson Butte, in Colorado.
Twilight LightningLightning crackles between clouds in the distance off the coast of the Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia.Guangzhou, ChinaA bolt of lightning streaks behind the Guangzhou International Finance Center in Guangzhou, China.

Vinales Valley, CubaLightning streaks across the sky over Vinales Valley, Cuba. Lightning can travel up to 93,000 miles (150,000 kilometers) per second and reach temperatures of 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit (30,000 degrees Celsius), more than four times hotter than the surface of the sun.