Ribbon lightning appears as parallel streaks of light. It is formed when wind separates the strokes of a flash. Bead, or chain, lightning is a flash that breaks up into a dotted line as it fades. Heat lightning, often seen on summer nights, seems to occur without thunder. Actually, it is lightning that occurs too far away for its accompanying thunder to be heard.
Sheet lightning appears as an illumination of a portion of the sky.
But it is lightning whose distance flashes either are too far way to be seen or are hidden from view by clouds. A form of lightning called ball lightning differs greatly from ordinary lightning. Ball Lightning appear as a glowing, fiery ball that floats for several seconds before disappearing. It has reportedly been seen during thunderstorms, usually after ordinary lightning has occurred. It is described as a red, yellow or orange ball that may be as large as a grapefruit.