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thunderstorm
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thunderstorm
Discover how rapid updrafts of warm air form cumulonimbus clouds resulting in heavy rains and lightning
Observe the density of lightning flashes in a typical year with its highest rate in South America, Africa, and Australasia
Know about the development of a thunderstorm prediction model that can run on a laptop
clouds
thunderstorm: structure world patterns of thunderstorm frequency thunderstorm: rain and lightning lightning: cloud-to-ground hail-producing thunderstorm
For Students
Lightning over Oradea, Romania
thunderstorm summary
Quizzes
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Thunderstorm cumulonimbus clouds above Montana. weather storm thunderstorm atmospheric disturbance cumulonimbus clouds thunder and lightning Homepage blog 2011, science and technology
Clouds and Cloud Types
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thunderstorm: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Thunderstorms

A collection of introductory articles about convection and the structure of thunderstorms, hailstorms, and tornadoes, including the damage they produce, is provided by Edwin Kessler (ed.), Thunderstorms—A Social, Scientific, and Technological Documentary, 3 vol. (1981–85).

An introductory-level set of case studies of severe wind damage and aircraft accidents is presented by T. Theodore Fujita, The Downburst, Microburst and Macroburst (1985).

At an intermediate level, a classic but still timely study of the properties of thunderstorms in Florida and Ohio is given by Horace R. Byers and Roscoe R. Braham, Jr., The Thunderstorm: Report of the Thunderstorm Project (1949). At an advanced level, Robert A. Houze, Jr., Cloud Dynamics (1993), presents a treatment of the dynamics of convective clouds, thunderstorms, and mesoscale convective systems. A comprehensive treatment of the physics and dynamics of cumulus clouds and thunderstorms is given by F.H. Ludlum, Clouds and Storms: The Behavior and Effect of Water in the Atmosphere (1980).

Lightning and lightning protection

A general introduction to thunderstorm electrification and lightning phenomena is provided by the National Research Council, The Earth’s Electrical Environment (1986).

A general introduction to lightning and lightning protection is provided by the following works: R.H. Golde, Lightning Protection (1973, reprinted 1975); L.E. Salanave, Lightning and Its Spectrum: An Atlas of Photographs (1980); B.F.J. Schonland, The Flight of Thunderbolts, 2nd ed. (1964); Martin A. Uman, Understanding Lightning (1971, reprinted 1986 with the title All About Lightning); and P.E. Viemeister, The Lightning Book (1961, reprinted 1972).

The following works treat lightning and lightning protection at a more advanced level: Donald R. MacGorman and W. David Rust, The Electrical Nature of Storms (1998); R.H. Golde (ed.), Lightning, 2 vol. (1977); B.F.J. Schonland, “The Lightning Discharge,” in S. Flugge (ed.), Encyclopedia of Physics, Vol. XXII (1956), pp. 576–628; Martin A. Uman, Lightning (1969, reprinted 1984 with a supplement) and The Lightning Discharge (1987); and Hans Volland (ed.), Handbook of Atmospheric Electrodynamics, 2 vol. (1995).

E. Philip Krider

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory - Thunderstorm. Nov 28, 2024
Add new Web site: NOAA Weather Service - Thunderstorm Ingredients. Oct 17, 2024
Video and links added. May 31, 2023
Add new Web site: Geosciences LibreTexts - Thunderstorm Fundamentals. Jan 20, 2023
Revised various figures concerning thunderstorm days in the United States and changed the diameter of hail in severe thunderstorms. Oct 29, 2020
Added video. Jan 27, 2016
Add new Web site: Weather for kids - Thunderstorm. Oct 25, 2015
Add new Web site: NOAA's National Weather Service - Thunderstorm Formation and Aviation Hazards. Oct 25, 2015
Add new Web site: UCAR Center for Science Education - Thunderstorms. Oct 25, 2015
Add new Web site: WeatherOnline - Thunderstorms. Oct 20, 2015
Add new Web site: Weather Wiz Kids - Thunderstorm. Oct 18, 2015
Thunderstorm interactive diagram added. Jul 09, 2012
Added image of a cloud-to-ground lightning strike. Feb 02, 2012
Photograph of a lightning storm over Arizona added. Jun 16, 2011
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Causes and Effects of Thunderstorms. May 10, 2011
Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Thunderstorm. Mar 30, 2009
Added new Web site: Window To The Universe - Thunderstorms. Mar 30, 2009
Added new Web site: Buzzle.com - Thunderstorm. Mar 30, 2009
Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - Why Are There More Thunderstorms During The Summer? Dec 24, 2008
Added new Web site: Federal Emergency Management Agency - Thunderstorms. Aug 26, 2008
Article revised. Oct 26, 2001
Article added to new online database. Aug 23, 1998
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