A storm (Proto-Germanic *sturmaz "noise, tumult") is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather. It may be marked by strong wind, hail, thunder and/or lightning (a thunderstorm), heavy precipitation (snowstorm, rainstorm), heavy freezing rain (ice storm), strong winds (tropical cyclone, windstorm) or wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere (as in a dust storm, blizzard, sandstorm, etc.). Storms generally lead to negative impacts to lives and property, such as storm surge, heavy rain or snow (causing flooding or road impassibility), lightning, wildfires, and vertical wind shear; however, systems with significant rainfall can alleviate drought in places they move through. Heavy snowfall can allow special recreational activities to take place which would not be possible otherwise, such as skiing and snowmobiling.
Read more about Storm: Formation, Types, Classification, Extraterrestrial Storms, Effects On Human Society
Famous quotes containing the word storm:
“Once more the storm is howling, and half hid
Under this cradle-hood and coverlid
My child sleeps on.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Thee for my recitative,
Thee in the driving storm even as now, the snow, the winter-day
declining,
Thee in thy panoply, thy measur’d dual throbbing and thy beat
convulsive,
Thy black cylindric body, golden brass and silvery steel,”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“There was never yet such a storm but it was Æolian music to a healthy and innocent ear.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)