ThunderstormsUnder the right conditions, convection can cause a cumulus cloud to grow into a cumulonimbus cloud. These are the same conditions that produce thunderstorms.

Three thunderstorm requirements

● A source of moisture● Lifting of the air mass● An unstable atmosphere

Thunderstorms occur infrequently on the west coast and frequently in the south east.

Thunderstorm Development

Types of Thunderstorms Classified by the mechanism that causes them to rise

Lightning is caused by the transfer of electricity generated by rapid rushes of air in a cumulonimbus cloud

Does lightning start in the clouds and move down? Or from the ground and move up?

Technically, both the cloud and the ground are responsible for causing a lightning strike.

Partially charged air forms a stepped leader from center of cloud

A return stroke of positively charged particles rushes up to meet it

A lightning bolt is formed!100 million volts of electricity becomes illuminated

Lightning heats the surrounding air to about 30,000°C Thunder is the sound of the superheated air expanding and contracting.(sound waves travel slower than light waves)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaPgSWdcYtY