
Thunderstorm - Wikipedia
Thunderstorms are responsible for the development and formation of many severe weather phenomena, which can be potentially hazardous. Damage that results from thunderstorms is …
Thunderstorm | Definition, Types, Structure, & Facts | Britannica
Nov 26, 2025 · Thunderstorm, a violent short-lived weather disturbance that is almost always associated with lightning, thunder, dense clouds, heavy rain or hail, and strong gusty winds. …
Severe Weather 101: Thunderstorm Basics
How does a thunderstorm form? Three basic ingredients are required for a thunderstorm to form: moisture, rising unstable air (air that keeps rising when given a nudge), and a lifting …
How Thunderstorms Form - Center for Science Education
With an updraft, downdraft, and rain, the cloud is now called a cumulonimbus cloud and the cycling of air up and down is called a thunderstorm cell. The moving air within the cloud builds …
THUNDERSTORMS - National Weather Service
The difference between a thunderstorm and a severe thunderstorm is the wind field. For a severe thunderstorm, the ingredients that must be present are moisture, instability, lift and strong …
The Anatomy of a Thunderstorm - Science@NASA
May 26, 2012 · Researchers fly to the heart of a thunderstorm to find out what happens when a storm lofts surface pollutants high into the atmosphere.
Life Cycle of a Thunderstorm - National Oceanic and Atmospheric ...
May 23, 2023 · The building block of all thunderstorms is the thunderstorm cell. The thunderstorm cell has a distinct life-cycle that lasts about 30 minutes. A cumulus cloud begins to grow …
What causes thunderstorms? How storms (and lightning) form.
Aug 1, 2023 · Rapidly rising air causes thunderstorms. The cloud eventually rises upward to temperatures below freezing, creating ice particles. These ice particles may collide and …
Thunderstorm Definition - National Weather Service
Thunderstorm - A rain-bearing cloud that also produces lightning. All thunderstorms are dangerous. Every thunderstorm produces lightning. In the United States, an average of 300 …
Thunderstorm - Lightning, Rain, Wind | Britannica
Nov 26, 2025 · Thunderstorm - Lightning, Rain, Wind: When the stroke plasma is created, its temperature is at least 30,000 °C (50,000 °F), and the pressure is greater than 1,000 …