How do tornadoes, hurricanes and thunderstorms differ?

When it comes to severe weather, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are regarded as nature's most violent storms. All of these types of weather systems can occur throughout all four corners of the globe. You might be wondering, which ranks the worst? read more

A thunderstorm is a storm that is produced by a cumulonimbus cloud, or thunderhead, that includes rain showers, lightning, and thunder. Thunderstorms are most hazardous when rain decreases visibility, hail falls, lightning strikes or tornadoes develop. read more

Thunderstaorms are thunderstorms. Thunder, lightning, rain, wind. Sonetimes hail. They may or may not include a supercell with rotational winds. Usually they do not. read more

However, tornadoes can form in many different circumstances and places around the globe. Hurricane landfalls are often accompanied by multiple tornadoes. While tornadoes can cause much havoc on the ground (tornadic wind speeds have been estimated at 100 to more than 300 mph), they have very short lifetimes (on the order of minutes), and travel short distances. read more