Over land we see tremendous diurnal changes, a strong peak in lightning in the afternoon over land. Over water we see very little variation. We believe it's due to the land absorbing heat and causing strong convection. On the other hand, water can store a lot more heat, and release it slowly.

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People living on some of the islands of the Pacific don't describe much lightning in their language.

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As summer in the northern hemisphere progresses, you see lightning moving farther north. You see a similar pattern in the southern hemisphere, but not so pronounced because there isn't as much land outside the tropics.

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