What causes a thunderstorm?

Thunderstorms forming over mountainous regions classify as orographic storms. Air mass thunderstorms arise following the formation of local air convections. These convections exist as pockets of unstable air, and form storms quickly. Frontal thunderstorms develop from fronts. read more

Thunderstorms form when an air mass becomes so unstable that it overturns violently. "Unstable" means that the air in the lowest layers is unusually warm and humid, or that the upper layers are unusually cool, or oftentimes, both. read more

Lots of these collisions build up big regions of electric charges to cause a bolt of lightning, which creates the sound waves we hear as thunder. The Thunderstorm Life Cycle Thunderstorms have three stages in their life cycle: The developing stage, the mature stage, and the dissipating stage. read more