Thunderstorm - Life Cycle

Life Cycle

Warm air has a lower density than cool air, so warm air rises within cooler air (this effect can be seen with a hot air balloon). Clouds form as relatively warmer air carrying moisture rises within cooler air. As the moist air rises, it cools causing some of the water vapor in the rising packet of air to condense. When the moisture condenses, it releases energy known as latent heat of vaporisation, which allows the rising packet of air to cool less than the surrounding air, continuing the cloud's ascension. If enough instability is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for cumulonimbus clouds to form, which support lightning and thunder. Meteorological indices such as convective available potential energy (CAPE) and the lifted index can be used to assist in determining upward vertical development of clouds. Generally, thunderstorms require three conditions to form:

1. Moisture
2. An unstable airmass
3. A lifting force (heat)

All thunderstorms, regardless of type, go through three stages: the developing stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. The average thunderstorm has a 24 km (15 mi) diameter. Depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere, these three stages take an average of 30 minutes to go through.