Lightning Basics
A thunderstorm is a naturally occurring disturbance where flashes of lightning are seen with the
accompanying sound of thunder. These thunderstorms are composed of heavy rains and strong
winds, and their primary source of energy is usually
convective cumulonimbus clouds set up by thermal instability [2]. There are several classifications
of lightning discharges but of primary interest for
transmission-line design considerations are
cloud-to-ground (CG) discharges. Fig. 1 depicts
the basic discharge between cloud and ground or
transmission line.