Particles from the sun not only warm our planet and occasionally knock out radio signals, but also cause electrical storms, according to new research from England.

Scientists from the department of meteorology at the University of Reading have announced a link between increased thunderstorm activity on Earth and streams of high-energy particles accelerated by the solar wind, suggesting those space particles indeed lead to the formation of lightning bolts.

Published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the findings tracked a substantial increase in lightning rates across Europe for up to 40 days after the arrival of high-speed solar winds, which can travel at more than 1 million mph, into the earth's atmosphere.

Although the exact cause of the storm activity has not yet been determined, the researchers argue the electrical properties of the air are somehow altered as the charged particles from the solar wind hit the atmosphere.

Recently-collected data indicated that after solar wind reached the Earth, there was an average of 422 lightning strikes across the U.K. in the following 40 days, compared to the average 321 lightning strikes in the 40 days prior the solar wind's arrival.

The study also revealed the rate of lightning strikes generally peaked between 12 and 18 days after the arrival of solar wind.

"Our main result is that we have found evidence that high-speed solar wind streams can increase lightning rates. This may be an actual increase in lightning or an increase in the magnitude of lightning, lifting it above the detection threshold of measurement instruments," said lead author Dr. Chris Scott. "Cosmic rays, tiny particles from across the Universe accelerated to close to the speed of light by exploding stars, have been thought to play a part in thundery weather down on Earth, but our work provides new evidence that similar, if lower energy, particles created by our own Sun also affect lightning."

As the sun rotates every 27 days, Scott explained, "these high-speed streams of particles wash past our planet with predictable regularity. Such information could prove useful when producing long-range weather forecasts."