Do Hurricanes Have Lightning? Here Are 25+ Amazing Facts

Hurricane is a form of tropical storm formed by horizontal winds.

Hurricanes are capable of sweeping ocean waves inward onto the land, accompanied by thunder. They can even cause severe floods and contain rain bands.

Due to the increase in the level of global warming, it is observed that the number of hurricanes has increased simultaneously too. According to scientists, the clouds of hurricanes or thunderstorms are formed by horizontal movements of the wind.

On the other hand, one of the major factors of producing lightning is wind in a vertical motion. Due to the absence of vertical winds, friction is not created between ice and water droplets.

Due to this reason, the ice and the water do not get mixed and do not create an electrical field, sparking lightning. The electrical field usually discharges the positive and the negative charges which are responsible for causing lightning.

Since the electrical field is absent, lightning is not observed when it comes to hurricanes. Whereas regarding a thunderstorm, lightning can be observed at times.

If you like reading this, you might want to read about categories of hurricanes and facts about hurricanes?

Reasons Behind Hurricane Formation

Hurricanes are nothing but a form of tropical storm originating from warm air. They are considered to be extremely destructive in nature, destroying buildings, institutions, and cities altogether. Apart from the warm air, the formation of hurricanes can take place because of the excessive warming up of the globe leading to climate change.

Warm and moist air over the water starts evaporating towards the atmosphere. Scientists stated that during this time there is no cold air aloft and hurricanes have a warm core. Slowly the hot air gets replaced by colder air which is present at that particular altitude.

This will form a cumulonimbus cloud. The process of evaporation of hot air and replacement with cold air continues. The process will continue eventually to give rise to powerful hurricanes and cyclones.

The thunderstorm will grow into cumulonimbus clouds and will start moving in a circular motion. The motion from outside might appear to be the rotation of the storm. The circular motion takes place due to the Coriolis Effect.

As we discuss the formation of hurricanes, it is important to remember the contribution of climate change to it. When the winds of the tropical storms collide with the hot air over the sea surface it might lead to stronger hurricanes.

It has been observed that a hurricane's eyewall gets stronger and more intense with the additional hot air from the sea surface.

In case of the landfall of the storm, the consequences have been severe. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricanes that fall under the categories of four and five were mostly accompanied by the warm and hot air of the sea surface.

This accumulation increases the speed of the hurricane wind almost by 10 percent.

In 2012, a similar hurricane called Hurricane Sandy had hit the cities of New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. However, we can say that the effect of climate change can be more intense on storms in general compared to hurricanes in particular.

Did Hurricane Katrina Have Lightning?

Hurricane Katrina was considered to be a massive hurricane that took place in the year 2005. According to the scientists, the hurricane had originated from the Atlantic ocean hitting the banks of New Orleans with its maximum intensity.

Apparently, Hurricane Katrina turned out to be a storm that expanded over a larger portion of land. In comparison to normal storms, this hurricane was much stronger and covered a large area.

The hurricane created a storm which was around 24-28 ft (7.3-8.5 m) rupturing the coastal regions of Mississippi. Regarding the lightning feature of a hurricane, it is very rare. Winds of hurricanes are mostly horizontal while lightning is caused by vertical winds.

However, in case of the Hurricane Katrina, significant lightning was observed. Hurricane Emily and Hurricane Rita also had similar characteristics of lightning and thunder.

Do Hurricanes Include Thunder And Lightning?

In order to produce lightning, the wind needs to hail in a vertical motion. In case of a thunderstorm or during the landfall, it moves in a horizontal motion.

Due to the fact that vertical motion is needed for the formation of lightning, the necessary friction to create it does not occur usually occur with the horizontal movement of hurricanes.

Hence, due to the absence of vertical winds, water and ice do not come in contact. So most of the storms that intensify into hurricanes have precipitation but do not include lightning and thunder.

As we know, lightning is caused due to electrical discharge producing an electrical field. When a thunderstorm is building up, there are electric discharges caused by vertical winds and the friction they create between ice present in the clouds and water droplets.

These positive and negative charges lead to the formation of lightning. Considering the fact that vertical winds can produce lightning, hurricanes and cyclones usually do not have thunder and lightning.

This is due to the fact that these tropical thunderstorms are created by strong horizontal winds.

Due to this, the water and ice do not rub against each other, and hence no lightning is created. Although hurricanes like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Emily were seen to produce lightning as well as thunder.

Do Tropical Depressions Have Lightning?

Tropical depressions are formed when low pressure occurs in a region. Tropical depressions are usually created with movements of winds traveling at a speed of up to 38 miles an hour. Tropical depressions are basically tropical storms. With the increase in speed, this depression can turn into a hurricane.

In the case of tropical depressions and cyclones, very few scientists have observed lightning. As we know thunderstorms, typhoons, cyclones, and depressions are created due to the movement of the horizontal winds.

Whereas lightning occurs due to vertical winds. Due to this reason, during a tropical depression, the water and ice do not come in contact, causing the absence of lightning.

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