
A brilliant bolt of lightning streaks across the sky, followed by a booming clap of thunder. Thunderstorms are electrifying displays of nature’s power, unleashing fierce winds and drenching rain. They are the most common type of violent weather. Over 50,000 thunderstorms occur every day across the Earth.
Cumulonimbus is the cloud type that produces thunderstorms. These enormous vertical clouds are also known as thunderheads! They can rise 10 miles into the sky with flat tops that resemble anvils. Lightning is a huge electric spark that superheats and expands the air, producing a shock wave – what we hear as thunder. Light travels faster than sound, so we always see lightning before we hear the thunder.
Ancient Romans believed the god Jupiter expressed his fury by hurling thunderbolts. Today, we know that thunderclouds form when warm moist air rises up into a ceiling of cold air. A thunderstorm is like an engine in which the warm moist air is the fuel and the cold dry air is the exhaust. With every clap of thunder and bolt of lightning, thunderstorms remind us how the overwhelming power of the weather shapes our world.