Question: how is lightning formed

Rhys Phillips answered on 11 Jun 2011:

Water and ice particles rub against each other in a cloud and this builds up a charge. Eventually the charge builds up so much that it has to escape down to the Earth. Sometimes something like a plane or tall building will get in the way and so gets hit. It’s a bit like when you get an electric shock off a car or door handle – your movement builds up a charge (due to friction) which wants to escape from your body. When you get close enough to a metal object, it jumps from your hand to the object – the tiny spark of electricity is what causes that pain. Lightning is basically the same thing but on a much larger scale.