Heat rays often strike mountainous areas or places that often experience summer thunderstorms.
Heat lightning is a flash of light that appears near the horizon, usually without any accompanying thunder. It is caused by distant thunderstorms and commonly associated with summer thunderstorms when temperatures are mild, hence the name “heat.” This type of lightning can be seen in many regions of the world, especially in areas where summer thunderstorms are common and in mountainous regions. It is not the same as cloud lightning, also called sheet lightning, a form of lightning that discharges within a cloud, causing the cloud to ignite.
A heat ray is a flash of light caused by distant thunderstorms.
Sometimes a heat ray isn’t lightning at all, but a reflection cloud of lightning from a storm far away. In other cases, it is regular lightning that has formed in the distance, producing a flash rather than recognizable lightning. Especially when dark clouds gather near the horizon, heat rays can really stand out and the absence of thunder can be very scary. Sometimes it takes on a reddish tint, thanks to the reflected and curved light.
There are a number of reasons that heat lights are often not accompanied by thunder. First, sometimes the storm is simply too far away to hear thunder. In other cases, the thunder is muffled by weather conditions. Particles in the air and heavy clouds can muffle the sound of thunder, and thunder can also be interrupted by large land masses, such as mountains. In mountainous areas, heat rays can come from a thunderstorm that is actually very close, but acoustics alter the sound waves, muffling or deflecting the thunder. Lightning without thunder can seem a bit surreal and can be very surprising without the audible signal of thunder.
Sometimes heat rays indicate a storm is coming. If storms tend to come from the south and lightning is seen in the south, for example, that means the storm may be heading north, bringing lightning, thunder, and rain to the observer. In other cases, the distant storm will never reach the observer, though it may put on a show.
Like other forms of lightning, heat lightning can be dangerous, especially to people unaware of the storm’s approach. While watching heat rays can be interesting, it’s a good idea to go inside or take cover in case the storm approaches the area, and people with vision problems might appreciate a warning from friends and neighbors who have seen the storm. illumination.