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How do thunderstorms form?

Updated: 8/9/2023
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7y ago

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Answer:Thunderstorms are caused by humid air condensing out the moisture it holds and releasing the latent heat of condensation.

This kind of storm forms when warm air is forced up by a cold front. Large, dark, nimbus clouds (cumulonimbus clouds) form . Such clouds are also called thunderheads. These clouds produce heavy rains and sometimes hail. They also produce lightning and thunder.

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13y ago
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7y ago

Static electricity builds up in the atmosphere in dry conditions and discharges in the form of lightning.
Static electricity builds up in the atmosphere in dry conditions and discharges in the form of lightning.
Thunderstorms occur when moisture mixes with heat and then rises and then cools. You can see this when you see a cumulus cloud grow taller into the atmosphere. Thus, a thunderstorm.

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7y ago

A Thunderstorm can form from multiple things. The basic gist is that thunderstorms are cumulus type clouds, and these clouds are upward developing clouds.

The most common formation is from a cold front, a cold front is a fast moving air mass that features cold and dry air. When this cold front comes into contact with warm and humid air, it will then force the warmer air up. This is because cold air is dense, and a cold front offers a steep slope. As the warm air rises it will start to expand and cool. Since the air held more water vapor it will also reach saturation point. Once saturation point is reached a cloud has a high chance of forming, and since the warm air was forced upward so abruptly you will see strong upward development. The clouds you see are cumulus clouds changing into cumulonimbus. If the upward winds are strong enough it can reach the bottom of the troposphere and start spreading outward. That is the basic formation of a thunderstorm.

There are three stages to a thunderstorm's life cycle: the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. When a thunderstorm begins to form, it does so at the cumulus stage. From there, the advances in severity until it reaches its peak at the mature stage and then begins to gradually die out as it enters the dissipation stage.

The Cumulus StageThe cumulus stage is the first stage of formation for any thunderstorm and is characterized by a few noticeable factors.

First off, a thunderstorm starts by being pushed upwards due to one of a variety of forces acting on it. These forces include solar insolation, which can heat up the ground beneath the thunderstorm and produce thermals. The thermals cause the clouds to rise high into the air. Another possible way in which a thunderstorm can begin to be pushed upwards is if the fledgling storm is in an area where multiple directions of wind all converge and force the air to rise, bringing the clouds with it.

As the thunderstorm begins to rise into the atmosphere, the moisture that its clouds contain begins to cool off and change phase from gas (clouds) to liquid water. When the water undergoes this transformation, cumulus clouds are formed giving rise to the name of the first stage of thunderstorm formation. Also, as the water begins to condense into a liquid, some heat is released which warms the surrounding air, producing an updraft as a result of convection. The updraft caused by the cooling water particles creates a low pressure zone directly beneath the thunderstorm and further contributes to rising thunderheads that are so often associated with a mature thunderstorm. This pattern of rising and cooling continues until the storm reaches the mature stage.

The Mature StageOnce a storm enters its mature stage, it reaches a point known as a cap where the air can rise no further. The clouds then transform again into what are known as cumulonimbus incus clouds. As the water droplets that have formed in the clouds begin to combine with each other, the clouds become heavier and the water begins to freeze into particles of ice. These particles of ice become raindrops when they melt as they fall from the clouds. The Dissipation StageThunderstorms produce thunder and lightning in their mature phase because of the mixture of updrafts and downdrafts within their clouds. The heat and the flow of air around the thunderstorm produces a continuous updraft while the falling rain produces a downdraft. With this mixture, an internal turbulence within the thunderstorm is born, giving rise to strong winds, positive and negative charges which create lightning and the possibility of tornadoes.
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12y ago

Thunderstorms occur when large masses of moist air are heated and rise into the atmosphere. This can form clouds in which rain condensation releases even more heat and continues the cloud's vertical development. These clouds are called cumulonimbus clouds, and are marked by strong updrafts flowing into the bottom of the cloud, and equally strong downdrafts away from the center.

Thunderstorms are powered by the heat energy released by the condensation of moisture as the air rises into cooler air at high altitudes. The clouds generate electrical potential from the moving masses of heated air, and lightning results, both within the cloud and to the ground.

Thunderstorms can create lightning, high winds, hail, heavy rain, and sometimes tornadoes.

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16y ago

The basic ingredients used to make a thunderstorm are moisture, unstable air and lift. You need moisture to form clouds and rain. You need unstable air that is relatively warm and can rise rapidly. Finally, you need lift. This can form from fronts, sea breezes or mountains.

- www.weatherwizkids.com

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13y ago

Thunder storms are formed when warm air rises and static electricity creates lightning.

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11y ago

well when gray clouds come and it gets very dark and the first thing you see is lighting, lighting is the first thing you see before thunder thats how they form.

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14y ago

because humid air condensing out the moisture it holds release the heat of condensation. then clouds like cumulonimbus, gather. thunderstorm begins

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11y ago

It can turn off your power and it can keep you awake heresthe steps about a thunder storm 1. It can be a blackout say=bl,ac,k,ou,t, if this happen read the horizontal websit

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What kinds of clouds form thunderstorms?

Cumulonimbus clouds form thunderstorms.


Do tornadoes form from thunderstorms?

Yes. Tornadoes form from thunderstorms, usually supercells.


What do thunderstorms have to do with Tornadoes?

Tornadoes need thunderstorms to form.


Do thunderstorms form over land?

Yes. Thunderstorms can form over both land and water.


Can stratus clouds produce thunderstorms?

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What thunderstorms form the portion of the atmosphere that the cloud grow through must be?

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Are tornadoes thunderstorms?

No. Tornadoes are violent whirlwinds that can form during thunderstorms.


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