Lightning: About Five Times Hotter Than the Sun's Surface

Lightning is a giant spark of electricity. It builds up as ice and water particles crash into each other inside the storm cloud.

A single bolt can heat the air around it to roughly 50,000°F. That is about five times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

The air heats up so fast that it expands with a bang. That sound is thunder.

Lightning can strike well away from the storm itself, so you don't need to be under the rain to be at risk.

The National Weather Service sums it up simply: when thunder roars, go indoors. There is no safe place outside during a thunderstorm.

Once you are inside, wait until 30 minutes after the last thunder before heading back out.

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