Types of Lightning
Types Of Lightning is a structured science dataset with 16 entries. Its fields include Type, Location, Color. The source values are preserved as a structured reference table.
Every row is shown below and is also available as CSV, JSON, or Excel.
Dataset details
- Table scope
- All 16 rows
- Fields
- 6 columns
- Source
- Community curated
- Data updated
- Apr 9, 2026
Included fields: Type, Location, Color, Typical Duration (ms), Danger Level, and 1 more.
The table contains every record in this dataset; the same records are available in each download format.
Preview observations
- Typical Duration (ms) range
- 1 to 5,000
- Across 16 preview rows
- Danger Level groups
- 10 distinct values
- Across 16 preview rows
Useful for
- Comparing Type, Location, and Color across science entries
- Building reference tables, charts, or analyses from 16 downloadable records
Type↕ | Location↕ | Color↕ | Typical Duration (ms)↕ | Danger Level↕ | Notes↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cloud-to-Ground (CG) | Between cloud base and ground | White to pale blue | 30 | Very high | Most common lethal form; causes most lightning deaths |
Cloud-to-Cloud (CC) | Between two separate clouds | White-purple | 50 | Low (airborne only) | Does not reach ground; sometimes called 'sheet lightning' |
Intra-Cloud (IC) | Within a single thundercloud | Diffuse white/blue | 100 | Low | Most common type of all lightning; stays inside the cloud |
Ball Lightning | Near ground or indoors | Yellow, orange, red | 5,000 | Moderate to high | Rare, spherical, floats for seconds; still poorly understood |
Sprite | 50-90 km altitude above thunderstorms | Red with blue tendrils | 20 | None (upper atmosphere) | Transient luminous event (TLE); discovered by video in 1989 |
Elve | ~90 km altitude (ionosphere) | Red | 1 | None | Expanding disc of light caused by EMP from lightning |
Blue Jet | 18-70 km altitude above storm top | Blue cone | 200 | None | Upward-shooting conical flash; rare, photographed from ISS |
Gigantic Jet | Up to 90 km altitude | Blue to red | 300 | None | Extremely rare; bridges thunderstorms and ionosphere |
Positive Lightning | Cloud-to-ground (from anvil top) | Bright white | 100 | Extremely high | Far more powerful than negative CG; can strike miles from storm |
Negative Lightning | Cloud-to-ground (cloud base) | White-blue | 30 | High | Most common CG flash; negative charge travels to ground |
Heat Lightning | Distant thunderstorm | Faint white/yellow | 100 | None (too far to hear) | Same as normal lightning but too far away for thunder to reach observer |
Ribbon Lightning | Cloud-to-ground | White parallel strands | 100 | High | Wind blows successive strokes sideways, creating a ribbon pattern |
Staccato Lightning | Cloud-to-ground | Bright white | 10 | High | Very short-duration, very bright single stroke |
Forked Lightning | Cloud-to-ground | White-blue | 40 | High | Main channel branches into multiple forks toward ground |
Bead Lightning | Cloud-to-ground (fading stage) | Orange-yellow beads | 1,000 | Moderate | Lightning channel breaks into glowing segments as it fades |
Volcanic Lightning | Volcanic ash plumes | White-purple | 50 | High | Caused by charge separation in erupting ash columns |
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Frequently asked questions
How is Types of Lightning organized?
The table starts in the source data's default order. You can sort and filter the loaded rows by the displayed fields.
How much data is available on this page?
This dataset contains 16 entries, and every row is available in the table and in the downloadable files.
Can I download the complete dataset?
Yes. CSV, JSON, and Excel downloads contain all 16 rows. Before republishing the data, review the source and any usage terms listed on this page; dtbse does not replace the original source's licensing terms.
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