Why are there storms popping up all over the east coast?

Question

I am looking at the doppler and there are storms everywhere along the east coast. There is only a frontal boundary in the mid west right now. What is causing all of this? I looked at the Skew- T graphs for virginia (thats where I live) and the atmosphere seemed somewhat stable.

What is causing the thunderstorms anyway? I know a bit of meteorology but I am still learning so I'm trying to understand what possible conditions are causing these storms. Any of you guys know?

Answer 1

Not sure what radar you are looking at...but I do not see any storms east of western Pennsylvania or north of South Carolina.  There is quite a bit of ground clutter on the radar I'm looking at (http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/northeast... ).  This is when the radar beam reflects off of objects close to the ground (buildings or mountains) and falsely shows up as echoes on the radar.  You can easily identify where these are just because there is little if any movement in these.

If you are referring to storms in the SE, this is simply thunderstorms resulting from the heating of the day.  There's so much moisture in the air in the SE that it only takes a little heat from the sun to create enough instability for storms to develop.  In this instance, the presence of a front is not necessary.

Answer 2

the heating and humidity create "scattered" afternoon thunderstorms here in the southeast.  they rain. they pass.  regular summertime weather !!