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Thunderstorms 101 | National Geographic


often the horizon they Rumble rolling
across the land they darken the skies to
then spark fire in the darkness letting
out an unmistakable roar thunderstorms
are rain showers accompanied by
lightning and thunder while violent
these weather phenomena are common with
about 2,000 occurring at any moment
worldwide there are four major types of
thunderstorms single cell which are
small weak and isolated storms
multi-cell a common type of storm that
includes a cluster of thunderstorms
squall line a collection of storms that
can form a line hundreds of miles long
and super cells the most intense kind of
storm capable of producing tornadoes all
thunderstorms form when warm air and the
lowest layers of the atmosphere Rises
called an updraft this air causes water
from the Earth’s surface to evaporate
and carries the moisture upward to form
clouds the clouds then build and grow
sometimes as tall as 10 miles high the
clouds darken as they fill and become
heavy with water cool dry air from the
upper layers of the atmosphere known as
a downdraft then pull this moisture
downward causing it to fall as
life-sustaining rain
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in addition to helping sustain life
thunderstorms also help maintain the
planets balance of energy and
electricity when energy specifically in
the form of heat causes water to
evaporate the heat is carried upward
with a water vapor as the vapor
condenses and forms water droplets it
releases the heat into the higher
altitudes of the atmosphere and cools
thunderstorms also help regulate the
electrical balance between the
atmosphere and the planet as clouds in a
thunderstorm develop excess positive and
negative charges form within them at a
certain point this buildup of opposite
charges leads to the transfer of
electrons in the form of lightning this
transference of electricity occurs so
quickly that it breaks the sound barrier
a phenomenon that produces thunder while
thunderstorms are necessary for
they can also be hazardous lightning
strikes create fires excessive rainfall
can cause flash flooding and high-speed
winds from tornadoes can destroy homes
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meteorologists study weather systems to
try to predict the occurrence of
thunderstorms and help ensure the safety
of countless communities [Music]
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