What is a thunderstorm

Thunderstorm is a local strong convective weather visible in tropical and temperate regions. Thunderstorms may be accompanied by lightning, lightning, strong winds and heavy precipitation, such as rain or hail. Thunderstorms can occur in spring and summer, the common example is summer afternoon, but they may also occur together with winter snowstorms, which is called thundersnow.

The duration of thunderstorm is usually less than 2 hours, and its life cycle includes cumulus stage, maturity stage and dissipation stage. Mature thunderstorms are characterized by highly developed cumulonimbus clouds. The convection center moves strongly upward and the surrounding area moves downward, which can form downburst and squall front.

According to the mesoscale circulation structure, thunderstorms can be divided into four categories: single thunderstorm, multi-cell thunderstorm, squall line and super-cell thunderstorm; According to the trigger mechanism, thunderstorms can be divided into thermal thunderstorms, frontal thunderstorms and topographic thunderstorms.