Lightning - Simple English Wikipedia

# Lightning

### From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Lightning over Arlington County, Virginia

Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge produced during a thunderstorm. The electric current is very hot and causes thunder. Sometime happen between clouds, sometime (in the rain) goes from cloud to ground.

## [edit] Facts and trivia

- Nearly 2000 people are struck by lightning each year around the world - about a quarter of these are killed.
- A bolt of lightning can reach 28,000 degrees celsius (50,000 degrees Fahrenheit)
- The Empire State Building is struck by lightning about 100 times each year, and was once struck 15 times in 15 minutes.
- The chance of a person living in the USA being struck by lightning is about 1 in 280,000.

Benjamin Franklin was fascinated by lightning and its properties. His curiosity in lightning led to breakthrough discoveries, many which are still in practice to this day.

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Category: Weather

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