Let’s Learn Thunderstorm

Whenever there is a weather disturbance, a thunderstorm is always

present. In this sense, we can identify in the weather forecast or a news report
that a thunderstorm is a mass of massive clouds. But are they just clouds? Let's
find out! Thunderstorms are also called electrical storms or lightning storms.
Small thunderstorms are sometimes called thundershowers. It materializes in the
type of cloud known as a cumulonimbus. It is a severe short-term weather
disturbance that is almost always associated with lightning, thunder, dense
clouds, heavy rain or hail, and strong gusts of wind. Thunderstorms can occur
anywhere in the world, while in the Philippines they are prevalent. So how does
the thunderstorm form?
Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises into cold air. Warm air
cools, causing moisture called water vapor to form tiny water droplets—a
process called condensation. Cooled air descends lower in the atmosphere,
warms, and rises again. This circuit of rising and falling air is called a
convection element. If this happens, cumulus clouds form. As the cloud grows,
precipitation forms in the cloud in the form of ice, hail, and rain. When these
particles collide, they become electrically charged. Lighter "ice crystals" are
positively charged and are carried upward by rising air. Heavier "hail" gets a
negative charge and either stays aloft or falls north of the storm cloud. A small
positive amount also occurs at the base of the storm cloud. Then there is
lightning. Lightning is an electric spark in the atmosphere or between the
atmosphere and the earth. The air acts as an insulator between the positive and
negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. If the
charge gaps grow too large, the air can no longer insulate the charges. Then
there is a rapid electrical discharge that we call lightning. The main ingredients
of a thunderstorm are moisture, instability, and lifting.
A thunderstorm can be composed of a single powerful convective cell, a
group of powerful convective cells, or a large number of powerful convective
cells. They are classified as single-cell, multi-cell, or supercell based on their
structure. Thunderstorms begin with air rising into the atmosphere to form a
convection cell, but the air can be lifted in a number of ways. Thunderstorms
can also be classified based on where they form and why the air rises. The first
type of thunderstorm is caused by uplifted air caused by a mountain or hillside
and is called an orographic thunderstorm. Frontal thunderstorms form along the
edges of weather fronts (e.g., a cold front). Finally, air mass thunderstorms are
caused by localized convection in an unstable air mass.