What are thunderstorms and how do these thunderstorms form?

Weather of Arabia - What are thunderstorms and how do these thunderstorms form?

What is a thunderstorm:

It is an atmospheric disturbance in the form of an electrical discharge that is seen through a flash of light (lightning) and heard through a sharp or rumbling sound (thunder).

Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by precipitation in different forms, such as:

• rain showers.
• the snow.
• Snow pellets.
• the cold.

Thunderstorms are among the weather phenomena that occur in all parts of the globe, with a difference in the periods of their occurrence, their strength, and the number of times they occur. afternoon or evening, and sometimes at night.

Lightning and thunder in thunderstorms:

What is lightning ?

Lightning is a large electrical spark resulting from the movement of electrons from one place to another, and it moves very quickly, as the air glows around it, and the lightning line is the path of the movement of these electrons.

What is thunder ?

Thunder is the atmospheric phenomenon associated with lightning, and it occurs when the air surrounding the path of lightning gets very heated, as the near part expands and the far part compresses, and this results in a movement of compressed air that results in a strong sound that travels through the air layers at different temperatures, and thunder can be heard from a distance of 15-20 Mile.

For a thunderstorm to form, there must be currents loaded with water vapor from the surface, and there must be a rise in moist air in the atmosphere.

What are the main factors for thunderstorms ?

• A state of atmospheric instability .

Where the air rises to the top to a temperature that allows the formation of cumulonimbus clouds, and the temperature inside the clouds reaches below zero degrees Celsius, and therefore ice crystals are available in the upper part of these clouds.

• Provides sufficient amounts of water vapor needed to form clouds and rain.

The ideal source of moisture and water vapor is water bodies, especially the oceans.

• Air lifting mechanisms . Which is represented by:

1. aerial heights.
2. cold fronts.
3. Air depressions and canyons.

• The surface of the earth is hot and the upper atmosphere is cold.

Learn about the life cycle of a thunderstorm