What exactly is a thunderstorm?

Question

why do we have it

Answer 1

"A thunderstorm, also called an electrical storm or lightning storm, is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its attendant thunder."

Answer 2

Thunderstorms are basically  electrical storms. We have these because of day time heating and disturbances in the atmosphere. Most of the time sun is responsible for thunderstorms. Basically warm air is less concentrated than cool air, so warm air rises within cooler air, similar to hot air balloons. Clouds form as warm air carrying moisture rises within cooler air. As the warm air rises, it cools. The moist water vapour begins to condense. When the moisture condenses, this releases energy that keeps the air warmer than its surroundings, so that it continues to rise. If enough instability is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for cumulonimbus clouds to form, which support lightning and thunder.

All thunderstorms, regardless of type, go through three stages: the cumulus stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. Depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere, these three stages can take anywhere from 20 minutes to several hours to occur.

Answer 3

I wish to add a variation of what a thunderstorm is w/o stating the obvious. Thunderstorms have had a lasting and powerful influence on early civilizations. Romans thought them to be battles waged by Jupiter, who hurled lightning bolts forged by Vulcan. Thunderstorms were associated with the Thunderbirds, held by Native Americans to be a servant of the Great Spirit. Perhaps the wrong section to post mythology, but interesting none-the-less.

Answer 4

it is a rainstorm characterized by lots of lightning which produces thunder and along with the lightning lots of rain. many of them are convection type storms caused by surface heating causing the air to rise until the air reaches 100% humidity or by a frontal passage where dryer cooler air dives under moist wet air with the same results as a convectional storm.

Answer 5

Its a weather phenomenon in which electrical discharge in present. Thunderstorms are unique based upon how they form and what they do. Moderate to heavy rain is common for thunderstorms. The sound of thunder is the expansion of air brought about by lightning heating air to 18,000°F.

Read more about thunderstorms at:

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/primer/tstorm/t...