Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant:  Human: How, and why, are lightning strikes happening? Explain in simple terms.

Assistant: happens when there is cloud formation and static charges collide

Human: that's seems reasonable, but I'd like more details, could you answer as if you were a weather physicist?

Assistant: 
Water droplets in the bottom part of the cloud are caught in the updrafts and lifted to great heights where the much colder atmosphere freezes them. Meanwhile, downdrafts in the cloud push ice and hail down from the top of the cloud. Where the ice going down meets the water coming up, electrons are stripped off. This typically causes the bottom of the cloud to be negatively charged and the top of the cloud to be positively charged.

Opposite charges attract one another. The opposite charges within the cloud do not immediately flow to meet one another because the atmosphere acts as an insulator, but if the charges build up enough they are able to overcome that barrier. This can cause lightning strikes between positively and negatively charged regions of the clouds or between the bottom of the cloud and the ground.

Would you like an even more detailed explanation? This is still mildly oversimplified for the sake of brevity. Lighting is caused by strong negative charges (electrons) that gather on the bottom of clouds being attracted to the positive charge of protons in the ground. There are three main steps to a lighting strike:
 
1. Negative charges (electrons) in the bottom of the cloud are attracted to the positive charge of protons in the ground.

2. The negative charges in the sky, and the positive charges on the ground become strong  enough to overcome the insulating properties of the air, causing a stream of electrons to arc down towards the highest point(s) with positive ground charges. This is why lightning rods appear to attract lighting, they extend the ground's natural positive charge with copper above competing spots.

3. The connection is made and the protons rush up to meet the electrons, creating a flash of lighting and clap of thunder, which is caused by the air around the lightning heating up to very hot temperatures. In the early stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. When the opposite charges build up enough, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning.