What You’re Seeing in the Skies Over Indiana and Kentucky Isn’t Really ‘Heat Lightning’
National Weather Service Debunks a Big Myth
I was today years old when I learned that something I believed my whole life was a complete fabrication. No, I’m not talking about anything political. I’m talking about a weather phenomenon that turns out… isn't really a phenomenon at all. It’s just a normal, everyday thing we’ve been mislabeling for years.
Indiana and Kentucky Weather is Changing, But One Thing Remained the Same
Growing up in Kentucky, you get used to the weather being kind of crazy. But in recent years, it feels like things have really amped up. I can count the number of tornadoes we had in the Tri-State during the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s on one hand. But now, it’s like your weekend isn’t complete until a tornado blows through.
One thing we always had, though, were those big, booming thunderstorms.
But sometimes, on certain nights, we’d see lightning streak across the sky with no thunder. No storm. Nothing. My mom would say, “Oh, that’s just heat lightning." I always thought that mysterious summer lightning was caused by heat in the air, that it stayed up in the clouds and never touched the ground.
Well... my mother LIED!
Okay, to be fair, she probably just repeated what she heard growing up. But still, the truth is:
There’s no such thing as "heat lightning."
What?!
I know, we’ve all been gaslighted by generations of well-meaning weather wisdom.
What is Heat Lightning?
According to the National Weather Service, “The term ‘heat lightning’ is commonly used to describe lightning from a distant thunderstorm that’s too far away to see the actual cloud-to-ground flash or hear the accompanying thunder. While many people incorrectly think heat lightning is a specific type of lightning, it is simply the light produced by a distant thunderstorm.”
The above video explains that if a thunderstorm is tall enough, we can see it from over 100 miles away.
The NWS go on to explain that mountains, trees, or even the curvature of the Earth can block our view of the lightning hitting the ground. What we’re seeing is just a faint flash lighting up the upper-level clouds. And we don’t hear the thunder because thunder can only be heard within about a ten-mile radius of the lightning strike.
I know. I’m flabbergasted too. Take a breath.
The Next Time You See "Heat Lightning"
So the next time you're sitting on the porch, watching flashes of lightning dance across the summer sky with no thunder in sight, just remember there's a thunderstorm brewing. It just might not be close to you. Tell your kids it's heat lightning. Let's keep the lie going.
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