Each Day Over 40,000 Thunderstorms Are Taking Place

Jane Louise · May 27, 2009

Each day over 40,000 thunderstorms are taking place on earth. In reality thunderstorms are the cause of most natural disasters. The lightning they create can result in death and injury and create forest fires. Thunderstorms also create damaging hail, heavy rains, which result in flash floods, strong downbursts of wind (or very strong winds coming from showers and thunderstorms), including microburst and tornadoes. They even contribute in the formation of hurricanes by several large thunderstorms fusing together.

Typical thunderstorms produce a down pour of rain and can last anywhere from a half-hour to an hour, but if a thunderstorm develops into a more powerful storm, such as a squall line or a supercell they can last for hours. Some storms, called dry thunderstorms don’t produce rain, however, and are often responsible for wildfires.

A thunderstorm is created by warm air rises (this is called an updraft) and condenses into a cumulus cloud. As more warm air collects the cumulus cloud will continue to grow. Soon the water droplets forming in the cloud will become too heavy for the rising air to hold. While this is happening cold air, which is heavier than warm air, starts entering the cloud. The cold air starts to lower beneath the warm (this is called a down draft), pulling the heavy water downwards, resulting in rain. The storm at this point has become a cumulonimbus cloud. Once lightning and thunder starts to occur, it becomes a thunderstorm. Click here to learn how lightning forms.

Thunderstorms have three stages, the development stage, the mature stage, and that dissipating stage. During the development stage air rises to create towering cumulus clouds. This stage lasts around ten minutes and occasional lightning strikes can start to occur. The mature stage lasts for about 10-20 minutes. During this stage there will most likely be heavy rain, strong winds, tornadoes, hail, and a frequent amount of lightning. Sometimes during the mature stage thunderstorms appear black or dark green. The final stage, the dissipating stage, rainfall stops or the intensity of it decreases, and it can still produce strong winds and lightning.

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01352/thunderstorms.htm