“Heat Lightning” Doesn’t Exist

Throughout the summertime of my younger years I recall hearing my parents and grandparents toss a common term around…heat lightning.  Many of you reading this have probably used the term yourself…I sure know I have.  What if I told you that heat lightning didn’t exist?  In case you’re wondering, that’s a true statement.  There really is no such thing as heat lightning.

Brad Panovich, Chief Meteorologist at WCNC (NBC Charlotte), recently republished a popular piece on his blog related to this topic.  It breaks down the great myth of heat lightning, and gives logical explanations why it’s not an actual term.  The following is an snippet taken from his piece:

“We’ve all heard the term “heat lightning” but what if I told you there’s no such thing? There really isn’t anything called heat lightning, it’s just a term people mistakenly give to distant thunderstorms. The term originated in the days when people use to sit on their front porch on warm summer evenings to escape the hotter house prior to A/C.

Also in an era before Doppler Radar was easily available to the public on TV, on-line and via mobile devices. People would notice lightning in the sky but they never heard thunder or saw a drop of rain and there was even at times clear skies over their heads.

So they just called it heat lightning because it happens on warm summer nights. Well all lightning comes from a cumulonimbus cloud or a thundershower or thunderstorm not just heat. What happens is at night you are able to see distant thunderstorms that are so far away you can’t hear the thunder or get any of the rain.”

Be sure to check out the entire post, which includes image and video that help break down the common misconception of distant thunderstorms being mistaken for heat lightning.