Lightening

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by mcrowder

Why would you say such a thing? What nonsense.

It's true that what is called "heat lightning" has nothing to do with temperature ... but there is such a thing - it refers to lightning that is far enough away that the light is reflected, refracted, etc enough to appear to be just one big area of light, instead of a bolt - and unless the thunderclap is within 30 seconds, it's pretty far away (could be 30-50 miles if conditions are right). The "rolling" sound you hear is actually the sound of the thunder rebounding between the clouds and ground before it reaches you, so you hear it in a wave of sound instead of a short burst.

He was responding toa "it's only heat lightning" and I don't think he meant it the way you seem to have taken it. He meant it really is lightning, not some harmless light in the sky as the "heat lightning" believers seem to think.

It may be reflected and refracted and far away but it is still lightning.