Lightning and Thunder

Are you tucked inside your warm, cozy house. Outside, the sky gets a little gray and sleepy. Suddenly, FLASH. The whole room turns bright white, just for a blink. Then you hear it… a low grumble, grumble, rumble. It gets bigger and bigger. BOOM. What was that. That's us. I am Lightning, and my big voice is Thunder. We love to put on a show in the sky for you. It's our special hello from the clouds.

I am a giant, sparkly jump. A big spark of electricity that hops from one fluffy cloud to another. Have you ever shuffled your feet on the carpet and then touched a doorknob. ZAP. You make a tiny spark. I am just like that, but super-duper big. A long, long time ago, on June 15th, 1752, a man named Benjamin Franklin was very curious about me. He carefully flew a kite high up in a stormy sky to learn my secret. He discovered that I was electricity. And my friend Thunder. He's the sound I make when I jump. I am super fast, so you always see my bright flash first. Then you hear Thunder's big, rumbling voice saying hello a little later. Flash, then BOOM.

Sometimes Thunder's BOOM can be a little surprising, but we are here to help. My bright flash makes special food inside the raindrops. This yummy food helps all the plants and flowers in your garden grow big, green, and strong. We are nature's helpers. Next time you see my flash, try counting until you hear Thunder's rumble. One… two… three. That tells you how far away we are. We are just putting on a big, noisy show to show you how amazing our world is.