There really aren't differrent
'types' of lightning, almost all
lightning discharges occur in
basically the same way.
However, varying conditions
and situations that lightning
occurs in make the flash look
different, with a few
exceptions, and names have
been given to describe them.
Here is a list of the most
common 'types' of lightning:
'Anvil Crawlers'- lightning
that branches upward and
outward like a tree along the
tops and sides of large
thunderstorms. The lightning
seems to 'travel' or 'crawl'
across the sky.
Anvil Lightning- (also
called a 'bolt from the blue')-
Dangerous type of lightning
that extends away from the
storm cloud and strikes the
ground away from the storm.
Ball Lightning- An
unexplained, rare, floating ball
of light that occurs during
thunderstorms.
Bead Lightning-A rare
occurence where separate
illuminated sections remain for
a short duration along a
recently discharged lightning
channel, making the channel
look like a string of lighted
'beads'.
Cloud-to-Cloud Lightning-
Somewhat rare type of
discharge between two or
more completely separate
storm clouds. Not to be
confused with common
intracloud lightning occuring
within one storm cloud.
Cloud-to-Ground
Lightning- A lightning
channel between cloud and
ground from a
downward-moving stepped
leader.
Ground-to-Cloud
Lightning- A lightning
channel between cloud and
ground from an upward-moving
leader. Most occur off of tall
buildings, mountains and
towers
Heat Lightning- Name
given to faint flashes of
lightning on the horizon from
faraway thunderstorms. Heat
lightning got its name
because it is often seen on
hot summer nights, a time
when thunderstorms are
common.
Intracloud Lightning- The
most common type of
discharge- lightning
completely inside the storm
cloud, jumping between
different charge regions in the
cloud. Intracloud lightning is
sometimes called sheet
lightning because it lights up
the sky with a 'sheet' of light
(pictured below - click to
enlarge). Not to be confused
with cloud-to-cloud lightning.
Ribbon Lightning-
Appearance of a lightning
flash's separate return strokes
side-by-side, resembling
ribbons, caused by wind
blowing each successive
return stroke sideways
Sheet Lightning- Name
given to clouds illuminated
evenly with a 'sheet' of light
from a lightning discharge
inside the cloud.
Sprites and Jets- Electrical
discharges that occur high
above active thunderstorms.
They have been found to occur
in conjunction with and/or as a
reaction to a normal
cloud-to-ground lightning
discharge.
They are swift and faintly lit,
making them almost invisible
to the naked eye.
Observations of sprites and
jets have been made by
placing a telescope on a high
mountain and aiming it above
thunderstorms occuring
hundreds of miles away.
Staccato Lightning- A
lightning flash that consists of
only one return stroke.
Streak Lightning-(forked,
jagged or zigzagged lightning)-
The visible section of a
lightning channel. All lightning
is 'streak' lightning, we just
don't see most of it because
some flashes occur entirely in
the storm cloud. 'Streak'
lightning isn't really a scientific
term, but the general public
uses it to describe the visible
part of a lightning flash.
http://wvlightning.com/types.htm