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Does ball lightning form at the point where lightning strikes, or in the electric field near storms?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of What forms and powers ball lightning?·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: balls form at or near ground strike pointsAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. Balls form at or near ground strike points. leads, with evidence 3 for: partly supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

The silicon and microwave models tie the ball to the stroke; a field-driven model does not. Lightning-location networks can now test this against reports⁠[1]⁠[2].

Answers 3

Balls form at or near ground strike points.
Partly supported by its tests
Evidence: 3 for
Most likely
Evidence: 2 for
Most likely
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible

History

  1. Rayle: rayle's first category appears after a stroke to ground and stays near the ground.For: Balls form at or near ground strike points.
  2. Rayle: rayle's second category is first seen in mid-air and vanishes without disturbance.For: Balls form in the electric fields near storms, not necessarily at a stroke.
  3. Cen et al.: the 2012 ball formed at a cloud-to-ground strike point.For: Balls form at or near ground strike points.
  4. Keul & Diendorfer puts forward: balls form at or near ground strike points.
  5. Keul & Diendorfer: in 34 European cases, close events lay a mean 0.42 km from a stroke, and stronger strokes were closer.For: Balls form at or near ground strike points.
  6. Sonnenfeld et al. puts forward: balls form in the electric fields near storms, not necessarily at a stroke.
  7. Sonnenfeld et al.: for the best-located US report the nearest strike was 2.3 km away.For: Balls form in the electric fields near storms, not necessarily at a stroke.
  8. Asked on this site
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