Photos

Foshan, China, is hit by two simultaneous lightning strikes.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CUI JINGYIN, IMAGINECHINA/AP

Lightning arcs from the top of a cloud to the horizon off the coast of the Bahamas. Lightning that comes from the top of the cloud can be positive lightning, which is rare but can be significantly more powerful than more common negative lightning. It can also strike farther from the cloud, up to 16 kilometres away.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KARA SWANSON, MY SHOT

Saguaro cacti stand in the desert as a thunderstorm rolls overhead. Lightning in dry areas increases the risk of brush fires.
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE GREGOIRE, MY SHOT

The inhabitants of a powerboat turn on their lights just as a bolt of lightning hits the ground behind it.  Covered, walled structures—not boats—are the best places to take refuge from a thunderstorm.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RICK KIDD, MY SHOT

The Tucson, Arizona, skyline is illuminated by a bolt of lightning.
PHOTOGRAPH BY RALPH WETMORE, GETTY IMAGES

Tall towers are frequent targets of lightning strikes, because there is less air to act as an insulator between the tower and a cloud.  In this case, it is the Hillbrow Telkom Tower in Johannesburg, South Africa.
PHOTOGRAPH BY THEMBA HADEBE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lightning illuminates the horizon behind a Malaysian cityscape.
PHOTOGRAPH BY AHMED ARUP KAMAL, MY SHOT

Several bolts of lightning strike the water off the coast of Kavala, Greece. Lightning can strike anything that can become electrically charged—including water.
PHOTOGRAPH BY FOTIS MAVROUDAKIS, MY SHOT

A thunderstorm passes behind the Cochise county courthouse in Arizona. Despite being in a dry part of the country, southeastern Arizona averages 30 to 40 thunderstorms a year.
PHOTOGRAPH BY STEVEN MAGUIRE, MY SHOT

A bolt of lightning strikes the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai, China. The antenna on top of the 468-metre tower caught fire in April 2010, and lightning was thought to be the cause. Lightning bolts can reach temperatures more than 4 times hotter than the sun.
PHOTOGRAPH BY SUNG MING WHANG, MY SHOT

Lightning strikes Kavala, Greece. The ancient Greek god Zeus was said to control lightning, but today we know lightning comes from a difference in electrical charge between clouds and the ground or among clouds.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MAVROUDAKIS FOTIS, MY SHOT

Two large lightning bolts strike the ground near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Though human eyes perceive the opposite, lightning moves from the ground up to the cloud.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LIONEL BROWN, GETTY IMAGES

A dramatic cloudburst releases jagged bolts of lightning deep into the Grand Canyon near Point Sublime.
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL NICHOLS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Lightning forks and rejoins itself over Table Mountain and Lion's Head in Cape Town, South Africa. Central Africa is the area of the world where lightning strikes most frequently.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LYNDA SMITH, MY SHOT