Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, or lightning storm, as it is also known as, refers to a weather condition, which is characterized by lightning, as well as its effect, i.e. thunder. It is typically accompanied by heavy rains and at times, snow, hail, or no precipitation at all. Thunderstorms might line up in the form of a series; and strong as well as severe thunderstorms may rotate.
As it is, warm air has a density, which is much lower than cool air; hence warm air rise within cooler air, displaying a phenomenon, witnessed in case of hot air balloons. Cloud formation takes place, when warm air carrying moisture ascends up within cooler air. When warm air goes up in the air, it cools down. Thereby, the moist water vapors begin to condense. When the moisture gets condensed, this releases energy, keeping the air warmer than its surroundings, so that it continues to rise. In case of presence of enough instability, in the atmosphere, the process continues for a period long enough for the formation of cumulonimbus clouds. This support lightning, as well as thunder.
Formation of a thunderstorm, irrespective of the type, goes through three stages, i.e. the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. These stages can take anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours to occur, depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere.
Thunderstorms take place throughout the world; in fact, even in the Polar Regions. They show the greatest frequency in areas covered by tropical rainforest, where they might take place, as often as everyday. Thunderstorms have been linked with the different monsoon seasons across the globe; and they occupy the rainbands of all the tropical cyclones. In case of temperate regions, they occur most frequently during springs and summer.
They may however, occur along or at times, ahead of the cold fronts during any time of year. They might also occur within a cooler air mass pursuing the channel of a cold front over a comparatively warmer water body. Thunderstorms are rarely to occur in Polar Regions, mainly due to cold surface temperatures.
A severe thunderstorm is the most devastating stage of a thunderstorm; and the term is used to denote a thunderstorm, which has arrived at a determined level of severity. Quite often, this level is evaluated by the storm, which is strong enough to cause wind or hail damage. As it is, in the Central Region of the United States National Weather Service, the hail verge for a severe thunderstorm is not until it is up to 1 inch in diameter. Although a funnel cloud or a tornado might indicate the presence of a severe thunderstorm, a warning of tornado would be issued in place of a warning for severe thunderstorm.