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How Do Thunderstorms Form

Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises rapidly into the atmosphere due to heating from the sun. As the warm air rises, it cools and condenses into clouds. If enough instability and moisture are present, thunderstorms will develop. There are three main types of thunderstorms: orographic, which form when air is forced up by mountains; air mass, which form from convection in an unstable air mass; and frontal, which occur along weather fronts. Thunderstorms produce lightning and thunder as a result of the buildup and discharge of electric charges within the storm clouds.

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60 views6 pages

How Do Thunderstorms Form

Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises rapidly into the atmosphere due to heating from the sun. As the warm air rises, it cools and condenses into clouds. If enough instability and moisture are present, thunderstorms will develop. There are three main types of thunderstorms: orographic, which form when air is forced up by mountains; air mass, which form from convection in an unstable air mass; and frontal, which occur along weather fronts. Thunderstorms produce lightning and thunder as a result of the buildup and discharge of electric charges within the storm clouds.

Uploaded by

Diana Benavidez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How Do Thunderstorms Form?

On a hot summer day the surface of the Earth is heated by the sun.
The Earth's surface heats the air just above the surface through the
process of conduction.

The action of warm air rising and cold air sinking (convection) plays a
key role in the formation of severe thunderstorms. If the warm
surface air is forced to rise, it will continue to rise, because it is less
dense than the surrounding air. In addition, it will transfer heat from
the land surface to upper levels of the atmosphere through the
process of convection.

Two of the most important ingredients for thunderstorm formation


are instability (unstable air) and moisture.

There are three main types of thunderstorms; orographic, air


mass, and frontal.

Air mass
Orographic thunderstorms
thunderstorms are the Frontal thunderstorms occur along the
are caused by air that is
result of localized boundaries of weather fronts (e.g. cold
forced up by a mountain or
convection in an front).
hillside.
unstable air mass.
Supercell thunderstorms occur when very strong updrafts are
balanced by downdrafts. This can allow the storm to persist for many
hours. In a supercell, a moist, unstable body of warm air may be
forced to rise by an approaching cold front.

The result is a strong, persistent updraft of


warm moist air. Speeds in an updraft can be as
fast as 90 miles per hour! The air cools as it
rises. Water vapor condenses and forms
cumulus clouds. When condensation occurs, heat (latent heat/energy )
is released and helps the thunderstorm grow.

At some point, condensation high in the cloud (now


in the form of water droplets and ice) falls to the
ground as rain. A cold downdraft forms as the rain
falls.

Thunder Facts For Kids


Enjoy our fun thunder facts for kids. Learn the difference between thunder and lightning, how thunder
is created, what philosophers used to think created thunder and much more.

Read on to find a range of facts, trivia and other interesting information about thunder.

Thunder is the sound caused by lightning.

 The intense heat from lightning causes the surrounding air to rapidly expand and create a sonic wave that you hear as
thunder.
 The average temperature of lightning is around 20000 °C (36000 °F).
 The sound of thunder can be anything from a loud crack to a low rumble.
 Light travels faster than sound so we see lightning before we hear thunder.
 The closer you are, the shorter the gap between the lightning and thunder.
 The speed of sound is around 767 miles per hour (1,230 kilometres per hour).
 The speed of light is around 669600000 miles per hour (1080000000 kilometres per hour).
 Thunder is difficult to hear at distances over 12 miles (20 kilometres).
 Thousands of years ago philosophers such as Aristotle believed that thunder was caused by the collision of clouds.
 Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning.
 The Oklahoma basketball team that play in the National Basketball Association (NBA)are called the Thunder.
Thunderstorms

 What is a thunderstorm?
A thunderstorm is a storm where you hear thunder and see lightning. Usually there is heavy
rain in a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms are electric storms.

When there is about to be a thunderstorm, a cumulonimbus cloud forms, often in a clear blue
sky. (When a cloud’s name ends in nimbus, it means rain or snow is falling from the cloud.)
The cloud increases in size and begins to build up peaks, which become very dark.

Cumulonimbus clouds mean that there is going to be a thunderstorm, with wind, rain and even
hail on a summer day.

The loud sound that thunder makes is due to the heat of the flash of lightning. This heat causes
the air to suddenly expand (grow bigger) and then contract (grow smaller). The noise we hear is
the sound of this violent expansion and contraction.

The sound of thunder may go on rolling for several seconds. This is mainly due to echoes from
the ground, from mountains or hills and from buildings.
Are thunderstorms only in summer?
Thunderstorms normally occur in hot, humid weather so are mostly in summer. There are winter
thunderstorms, however, which occur along the edge of a cold weather front.

The worst thunderstorms happen in the tropics, where the air can become very hot and very
humid. In tropical countries the rainy season often begins with a series of violent
thunderstorms.

Every day across the planet Earth there are about 1,800 thunderstorms.

What causes a thunderstorm?

 · Thunderstorms happen when the air has become very warm and heavy with water
vapour.
 · Heated air expands, rises and forms clouds.
 · When the warm air rising from the ground is very full of water vapour, it continues to
rise and builds up great peaks of cloud.
 · Inside this cumulonimbus cloud, a storm is raging as the warm air rushes in.
 · Air pilots know that they must never fly through a thunder cloud as the force of the
winds inside can damage the aircraft.
 · When the cloud can support no more water, the rain falls, very suddenly and heavily.

Why is a thunderstorm electric?


 · The air rising to the top of the thunderclouds carry a negative charge of electricity.
 · The raindrops, however, as they begin to fall to the bottom of the cloud, develop a
positive charge of electricity.
 · When these charges meet in a violent storm inside the cloud, electricity is sparked in
the form of lightning.

Facts about thunderstorms


 · Every thunderstorm has lightning.
 · The upward wind speed inside the cumulonimbus cloud can reach up to 100 miles per
hour.
 · The worst thunderstorm area in the world is Kampala, the capital of
Uganda. Kampala has an average of 240 days with thunderstorms every year.
 · Severe thunderstorms can produce hailstones of three-quarters of an inch in diameter
(the distance from side to side). A thunderstorm like this can cause terrible damage to
crops.
 · Never shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm. Trees can be struck by lightning or
have their branches torn off during a thunderstorm.

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