Notes chapter 5 Lesson 1 Thunderstorms
Thunderstorm: a violent storm with much thunder and
lightning formed from rapid updrafts of warm,
humid air. Thunderstorms require significant
energy in the Atmosphere and warm humid air
to form. The precipitation that comes from a
thunderstorm can be rain, snow, sleet and hail.
Occurs mainly in the troposphere but sever
Cumulonimbus clouds may reach the
Stratosphere.
Thunderstorms occur mainly in the hot days of the summer
because the energy needed to produce thunderstorms usually
comes from heat energy. Thunderstorms often occur in the
noon because the sun is at its hottest point during this time.
Severe thunderstorms occur near lakes, ocean, and rivers.
Thunderstorms come from cumulonimbus clouds.
Cumulonimbus clouds are formed by convection.
Updraft: warm, humid, rising air/ creates cumulus clouds and
then when heat is added the clouds become cumulonimbus
clouds/ the updrafts cause the water vapor in the air to
condense and continue falling thru the clouds and then back
up causing the droplets to grow larger until they are to strong
for the updraft to continue to push back up thru the clouds/ the
droplets fall and the down draft comes in
Down draft: downward currents of air that result when air aloft
becomes more dense due to cooling by ice and rain water from
a thunderstorm.
Updrafts push up warm humid air and downdrafts pushes pulls
cold air down.
Lightning: a phenomenon that occurs when electricity
travels between two areas of opposite charges within a cloud,
from a cloud to cloud, or from a cloud to the ground
Lightning is the most dangerous part of a thunderstorm/ only
as thick as a mans finger/ very hot, sometimes as hot if not
hooter than the sun/ electricity/ can hit everything/ hits
higher things ex: trees, rods, etc./ doesn’t always touch the
ground/ can be in cloud- cloud to cloud- cloud to ground
Thunder: sound caused by air expanding rapidly from the
heat of lightning
Thunder is named from its sound.
Thunderstorms cool down the temperature/ see lightning then
you hear thunder/ when the lightning and thunder occur at the
same time that means the storm is very close