Ball lightning occurs after a ground flash. The ball is usually red, orange, or yellow. It can be as small as a grapefruit or as big as a pumpkin. After briefly hovering above the ground or darting wildly about, the lightning ball fizzles out—or ends with a startling BANG! Cloud lightning never strikes the earth. Spider Flashes of spider lightning crawl across the sky for up to 90 miles. Click a photo to see it larger.