Lightning Photography

Lightning rapidly heats the air in its immediate vicinity to about 20,000 °C (36,000 °F) — about three times the temperature of the surface of the Sun. The sudden heating effect and the expansion of heated air gives rise to a supersonic shock wave in the surrounding clear air. It is this shock wave, once it decays to an acoustic wave, that is heard as thunder.
The return stroke of a lightning bolt follows a charge channel about a centimeter (0.4 in) wide.
Different locations have different potentials ("voltages") and currents for an average lightning strike. In the United States, for example, Florida experiences the largest number of recorded strikes in a given period during the summer season , has very sandy soils in some areas, and electrically conductive water-saturated soils in others. As much of Florida lies on a peninsula, it is bordered by the ocean on three sides. The result is the daily development of sea and lake breeze boundaries that collide and produce thunderstorms.
NASA scientists have found that electromagnetic radiation created by lightning in clouds only a few miles high can create a "safe zone" in the Van Allen radiation belts that surround the earth. This zone, known as the "Van Allen Belt slot", may be a safe haven for satellites in "middle Earth orbits" (MEOs), protecting them from the Sun's intense radiation.