By Spy Uganda
A family of four members perished on Thursday night due to lightning at Naluwerere village in Sagiti Parish in Jaguzi Sub County in Mayuge District-TheSpy Uganda reports.
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The deceased are Wambi Patrick Omunyu (35), his wife Nakidandwe Brenda (28) and their children Wamono Emmanuel (4) and Wamono Benjamin (2).
Only one child who adds up the family to five members, Buyama Shirat (8) survived because she didn’t sleep at home.
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Meanwhile, the bodies were taken to Buluuta village in Malongo Sub County for burial-according to reports.
About Thunder & Lightning
Lightning is the most spectacular element of a thunderstorm. In fact, it is how thunderstorms got their name. Wait a minute, what does thunder have to do with lightning? Well, lightning causes thunder.
READ ALSO: Lightning Strikes One Dead, Five Injured In Bushenyi
Lightning is a discharge of electricity. A single stroke of lightning can heat the air around it to 30,000°C (54,000°F)! This extreme heating causes the air to expand explosively fast. The expansion creates a shock wave that turns into a booming sound wave, known as thunder.
What Happens Within The Cloud?
As ice crystals high within a thunderstorm cloud flow up and down in the turbulent air, they crash into each other. Small negatively charged particles called electrons are knocked off some ice and added to other ice as they crash past each other. This separates the positive (+) and negative (-) charges of the cloud. The top of the cloud becomes positively charged while the base of the cloud becomes negatively charged.
READ ALSO: Shock As 4 More People Are Struck By Lightning In Bushenyi
How Is A Lightning Bolt Formed?
Because opposites attract, the negative charge at the bottom of the storm cloud wants to link up with the ground’s positive charge. Once the negative charge at the bottom of the cloud gets large enough, a flow of negative charge called a stepped leader rushes toward the Earth. The positive charges at the ground are attracted to the stepped leader, so the positive charge flows upward from the ground. When the stepped leader and the positive charge meet, a strong electric current carries a positive charge up into the cloud. This electric current is known as the return stroke. We see it as the bright flash of a lightning bolt.
Thunder and lightning occur at roughly the same time although you see the flash of lightning before you hear the thunder. This is because light travels much faster than sound.
