of charge centres in the cloud. Such changes in cloud charging may come about as a result of variations in vertical wind shear or precipitation, or dissipation of the storm. Positive flashes may also result from certain behaviour of in-cloud discharges, e.g. breaking off or branching from existing flashes.

Positive lightning strikes tend to be much more intense than their negative counterparts. An average bolt of negative lightning creates an electric current of 30,000 amperes