Home / Weather News /

Strange form of lightning: Bead lightning in Northampton

03:30 PM
October 30, 2022

Strange form of lightning
Bead lightning in Northampton

Settings for external content

Privacy policy

A form of lightning, known as bead lightning, chain lightning or even pearl lightning, was recently captured in Northampton.

This strange-looking lightning was spotted in Northampton, amidst the line of thunderstorms, that moved through on Sunday October 23rd.

Bead lightning is an aspect of a normal lightning flash, but appears to break up into luminous fragments. It describes a stage of the discharge, rather than an actual type of lightning.

The discharge channel exhibits a ‘bead pattern’ in the decaying stage of the discharge, with different channel sections cooling at different rates.

lightning infographic

It is most commonly observed as cloud-to-ground lightning, though there are a few different forms of lightning:

  • Cloud-to-cloud, or inter-cloud, when the charge travels from one cloud to another, and can appear as 'spider lightning'
  • Intra-cloud is an electrical discharge between oppositely charged areas within a cloud, often seen as 'sheet lightning'
  • Cloud-to-ground lightning is a discharge between opposite charges in the cloud and on the ground, often in a forked pattern

Have you ever spotted bead lightning before, or caught another cool shot of lightning? Send in your shots (captured from a safe distance!) right here.

Irene Sans
More on the topic
rip current
Monday, May 26, 2025

As more head to the coast

Rip currents & safety tips
Sunday, June 22, 2025

Why & how does it work?

High pressure & extreme heat
Happy Earth Day
Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Employ renewable energy

Earth Day 2025 - Our Power, Our Planet
All weather news
This might also interest you
Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Daily briefing

Storms roll into East
Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Where do storms form?

What to expect from the tropics in July
Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Daily briefing

Flash flood threat for the Southeast & more
All articles
Weather & Radar

www.weatherandradar.com

instagramfacebookthreadsContact uslinkList
Privacy policy | Legal info | Accessibility statement