Types of Rainstorms

DERECHO-PRODUCING STORMS. Derechos are associated with bands of showers or thunderstorms (collectively referred to as "convection") that assume a curved or bowed shape. The bow-shaped storms are called bow echoes. Bow echoes typically arise when a storm's rain-cooled outflow winds are strong, and move preferentially in one direction.

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In 1977 a Southern Airlines Jet flying between Huntsville and Atlanta rain into a hail storm that caused the engines to flame out. See more on Why Planes Crash Monday at 9pm on The Weather Channel.

The main hurricane development region is in the North Atlantic Ocean. African thunderstorms that form between the Saharan Desert and tropical rainforest can excite waves in the trade winds. These are not waves of water on the ocean, but rather waves in the airflow.

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A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, lightning storm, or thundershower, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Thunderstorms occur in a type of cloud known as a cumulonimbus.

A winter storm is an event in which varieties of precipitation are formed that only occur at low temperatures, such as snow or sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are low enough to allow ice to form (i.e. freezing rain).

Thunderstorms are a great way for the atmosphere to release energy. When warm moist air meets colder drier air, the warm air rises, the water vapor condenses in the air, and forms a cloud. As the water vapor condenses it releases heat, which is a form of energy. A large amount of the thunderstorm's energy comes from the condensation process that forms the thunderstorm clouds. As the thunderstorm progresses, eventually the rain cools the entire process down and the energy is gone.