WHY DOES LIGHTNING FORM?

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As a thunderstorm grows, electrical charges build up within the cloud. Oppositely charged particles gather at the ground below.

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The attraction between positive and negative charges quickly grows strong enough to overcome the air's resistance to electrical flow.

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Racing toward each other, they connect and complete the electrical circuit.

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Charge from the ground then surges upward at nearly one-third the speed of light and we see a bright flash of lightning.