I'm confused about the weather! isolated t-storms with 30% precipitation?

Question

what does this mean? won't it rain in a thunderstorm? so then why does it say only a 30% CHANCE of PRECIPITATION?

does it mean it's only going to thunder and be windy?

Answer 1

It is possible to have thunder without rain.  Thunder occurs when static electricity jumps between cloud and cloud, or cloud and ground.

Eventually, the clouds will move elsewhere, and produce rain, but when and where they produce rain might not be the same place and time that they produce lightning & thunder.

Answer 2

No, there's a 30% chance that rain will fall that day. It doesn't mean that it won't rain. So, there's a 70% chance your day's gonna be dry.

For isolated t-storms, that means that thunderstorms will "pop up" randomly across your area, thus the 30% chance of rain.

Answer 3

The forecast means that thunderstorms are expected to be widely spaced apart (isolated), and the chance for any one spot to get one of those storms is 30%.

Sometimes, in dry climates like where I am, you can get a thunderstorm in which no rain reaches the surface, but that's not what is meant by your question.