What happens when storm clouds produce lightning and thunder

During a storm, colliding particles of rain, ice, or snow inside storm clouds increase the imbalance between storm clouds and the ground, and often negatively charge the lower reaches of storm clouds.

Thunder is created as the result of the rapid expansion of the air that surrounds a bolt of lightning. When a bolt of lightning occurs, a secondary lightning bolt will return from the ground to the clouds along the same path as the first bolt.