he lightning strike is the visible result of an electric discharge caused by the contact between two electrically charged regions. there's a whole process that happens before what we call a lightning strike that we don't get to see ! what makes a cloud a thundercloud is that natural turbulences within the cloud's anatomy cause an uneven distribution of electric charge. an upward air draft in the center of the cloud causes positive electric charges to end up in the upper part of the cloud, and negative electric charge in the lower part. this strong negative electric energy on the base of the cloud actually affects the electric charges on the ground underneath it, des