Upper-atmospheric lightning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper-atmospheric_lightning

Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmospheric lightning is believed to be electrically induced forms of luminous plasma. The preferred usage is transient luminous event (TLE), because the various types of electrical-discharge phenomena in the upper atmosphere lack several characteristics of the more familiar tropospheric lightning.

Transient luminous events have also been observed in far-ultraviolet images of Jupiter's upper atmosphere, high above the altitude of lightning-producing water clouds.^[1][2]

Characteristics

There are several types of TLEs, the most common being sprites. Sprites are flashes of bright red light that occur above storm systems. C-sprites (short for "columniform sprites") is the name given to vertical columns of red light. C-sprites exhibiting tendrils are sometimes called "carrot sprites". Other types of TLEs include sprite halos, ghosts, blue jets, gigantic jets, pixies, gnomes, trolls, blue starters, sprelves and ELVESs. The acronym ELVES (“emission of light and very low frequency perturbations due to electromagnetic pulse sources”) refers to a singular event which is commonly thought of as being plural. TLEs are secondary phenomena that occur in the upper atmosphere in association with underlying thunderstorm lightning.^[3]

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Sprite (lightning)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(lightning)

^{Sprites or red sprites are large-scale electric discharges that occur in the mesosphere, high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are usually triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground.}

The bottom of the red sprites could never almost reach the ground or even be below a cloud because of:

1. Sprites occur in the very cold temperature environment with no atmosphere except for nitrogen. This is typically in the mesosphere, 30+ miles up which is above 150,000 feet or 8 times higher than the peak of the tallest mountain on the planet.

This is around 3 times higher than even the highest flying military jets. 

2. Excitation of the nitrogen with oxygen exhausted causes the red color.  In the troposphere, where we live the presence of O2 and the extremely high temperature causes lighting to be bright white. Lightning could never be red below a cloud or in the troposphere. Indisputable atmospheric chemistry and the laws of physics tell us this.
3.  Thunderstorms can only exist in the troposphere because of the thick atmosphere and water vapor that condenses out to clouds as warm air rises, cools and the H2O condenses out.  The rapidly rising air causes an electrical charge to build up in the base of the cloud.  This does not exist higher up in the mesosphere where the atmosphere thins out. However, the electrical charge that accumulates in the base of the cloud that discharges in the form or cloud to ground lighting and cloud to cloud lighting can also cause lightning ABOVE the cloud because of the charge accumulating at the top of the cloud. When it discharges far above the cloud, it causes sprites. Not all lighting above the cloud is sprites (most isn't) but all sprites are lighting above the top of the cloud. As in 30-50 miles above the surface of the planet. 
4. Lighting has a temperature of around 50,000 Deg C.  which is as hot as the surface of the sun.  Red sprites are cold plasma phenomena. I'm not sure what the temperature is but way colder than lighting.