Talk:Dry lightning

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[edit] Heat lightning

Is dry lightning the same thing as heat lightning? It would seem to me they kind of share some things in common (both misnomers) but heat lightning refers to lightning without sound (and possibly rain) whereas dry lightning refers to lightning without rain, but maybe with sound? Anyone? Since they are both misnomers perhaps it would be innacurate to say they are the same thing, but maybe linking the articles or combining them might not be a bad idea? MDuchek 01:41, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

I have the same question, but I added links to each other in the meantime. I think basically they're the same, but just referring to slightly different circumstances. Like variations of the same thing. I'd eventually like to see both of these articles combined, but I won't do anything yet. Sporlo (talk) 01:08, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Dry lightning and heat lightning are similar but different. Dry lightning is directly associated with low precipitation thunderstorms in the Western US. The storms produce rain but most or all of the rain evaporates before reaching the ground, dry lightning refers to the lack of rain produced by the storm. Heat lightning is usually associated with summer evenings and nights when many people are outside enjoying warm summer temps. Light travels much more than the sounds of thunder due to many factors, temps, air density, topography, etc... Also most heat lightning is from cloud-cloud or sheet lighting higher up in the clouds. Heat lightning occurs miles away from the storms so viewers experience no precipitation or other attributes of the storms.--Bhockey10 (talk) 08:06, 5 June 2008 (UTC)