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Thunderstorms
Ben Plawsky, John Naydenov,
Ben Stadler, Phil Carter
Development of Thunderstorms
 Warm humid air rises in an unstable
environment.
 Three Stages
– Cumulus Stage – Strong updrafts supply warm,
moist air continually higher causing the cloud to
grow vertically.
– Mature Stage – Most active, gusty winds,
lightning, heavy precipitation, and sometimes
hail.
Development of Thunderstorms
– Dissipating Stage – The combined cooling of
falling precipitation and downdrafts cause the
storm to die down.
How are Thunderstorms Measured?
 There is no official scale to measure
thunderstorms, so we measure
thunderstorm severity by the strength of
its winds, the size of its hail and its ability to
generate tornadoes.
Where do Thunderstorms Occur?
 Occur anywhere there is warm moist air.
 Occur most often around the equator.
Available Warning System
 First the thunderstorms are detected using
radars and spotter reports to create weather
service issue warnings. After that parts of
the media are used such as TV and radio to
reach the general public.
Safety Procedure
 When in a thunderstorm go indoors for risk of
being struck by lightning. After that do not use any
electrical equipment or anything that in apart of a
pluming system because using anything like this
could attract lightning and damage equipment or
electrocute the user. Stay away from windows
doors and concrete floors. Last avoid any area
that contains natural gas for risk of gas being
ignited.
Most Severe on Record
 The largest thunderstorm ever recorded
happened in Dallas Texas on may 5th, 1995.
Many people were outside at the time and
were injured by large pieces of hail when the
storm started. As a result 17 people died.
There was also flash flooding created by the
storm. 1.1 billion dollars worth of property
was either damaged or destroyed from hail
flooding and lightning.