You may have experienced a thunderstorm before but not really know how it formed or what its potential damage is. According to the definition from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a thunderstorm is one produced by a type of cumulonimbus cloud and accompanied by lightning and thunder.
In this article, we'll explain everything about thunderstorms in detail. Want to know how they form and what damage they can cause? Keep reading and you'll learn all about it!
Electric storms
These types of storms are quite interesting meteorological phenomena and are feared by a large part of the population. This is because they have a high potential for danger and produce a great deal of unpleasant noise. Generally, when there is a thunderstorm, it is accompanied by intense and abundant rainfall. They bring with them loud but short-lived thunder. There are also thunderstorms that can be seen across the entire sky over the city.
When a person looks closely at a thunderstorm, they can see that it is shaped like an anvil. This is because the clouds at the top are flat. And it is that electrical storms can happen anywhere in the world, as long as there are conditions of heat and humidity necessary.
On the other hand, there is what is known as a severe thunderstorm. This is a phenomenon similar to the one described, but accompanied by hailstones up to an inch in size or larger. In addition, wind gusts exceeding 92,5 km/h occur. Occasionally, a tornado may form , devastating everything in its path.
These storms are more frequent during the spring and summer months, especially at dusk and at night. To learn more about this topic, you can read about the world's biggest thunderstorms and how they can affect people.
Formation of thunderstorms
For a meteorological phenomenon of this magnitude to form, a lot of humidity is needed, an air that is upward and unstable, and a lifting mechanism that pushes the air. The process by which it is formed is as follows:
- First of all, there must be hot air that is full of water vapor.
- That hot air starts to rise, but it stays warmer than the air around you.
- As it rises, the heat it has is transferred from the surface of the earth to the highest levels of the atmosphere. The water vapor cools, condenses and that is when clouds begin to form.
- The upper part of the cloud is colder than the lower part, so the water vapor at the top turns into continuously growing chunks of ice.
- The heat inside the cloud begins to increase and even more steam is created. At the same time, cold wind blows from the top of the cloud.
- Finally, chunks of ice inside the cloud are blown up and down by the wind. The collision between the pieces is what produces the sparks that jump and create regions with great electrical charge. It is this that later appears as lightning bolts.
Types of thunderstorms
Because there is not only one type of thunderstorm. There are different types depending on their training and course. We summarize the types here:
- Simple cell. These are weak storms with a fairly short duration. They can produce heavy rains and lightning.
- Multicellular. They consist of two or more cells. It is capable of lasting several hours and can produce intense rainfall accompanied by hail, strong winds, brief tornadoes and even floods.
- Squall line. It is a solid or near solid line of active storms accompanied by heavy rain and strong gusts of wind. It is between 10 and 20 miles wide (16-32.1 kilometers).
- Arc echo. This type of thunderstorm is based on an arc-shaped curved linear radar echo. Winds develop in a straight line in the center.
- Supercell. This cell maintains a whole persistent region of updrafts. It lasts more than an hour and can precede large, violent tornadoes.
Lightning in thunderstorms
One of the phenomena that takes place during storms is lightning. Lightning strikes are nothing more than short discharges of electricity that take place inside the cloud, between cloud and cloud or from a cloud to a point on the ground. For a beam to strike the ground, it must be elevated and there must be an element that stands out from the rest.
The intensity of a lightning bolt is a thousand times greater than the current we have in our homes . If we can be electrocuted by a power outlet, imagine what a lightning bolt can do. However, there are many cases of people who have been struck by lightning and survived. This is because the duration of a lightning strike is very short, so its intensity is not fatal.
They are rays that are capable of propagating at about 15.000 kilometers per hour and measuring about a kilometer long. Up to five kilometers long lightning bolts have been recorded in very large storms.
On the other hand, we have thunder. Thunder is the explosion caused by an electrical discharge that can rumble for a long time due to the echoes that form between the clouds, the ground, and the mountains. The larger and denser the clouds, the stronger the echo produced between them.
Because lightning travels faster than the speed of light, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder. However, they occur simultaneously. For more information about lightning, we recommend reading about everything you need to know about lightning and its relationship to other phenomena associated with thunderstorms.
Negative effects and damage caused
These types of weather events cause significant damage. If they persist for an extended period, they can lead to flooding. The winds alone are capable of uprooting trees and other large objects. Power outages are frequently caused by damage to power lines.
Tornadoes can destroy buildings in just a few minutes. To learn how thunderstorms affect people, visit the following link: how thunderstorms affect people and the effects they can have on the environment.
As you can see, electrical storms are very dangerous phenomena from which you have to take refuge.
