1. Thunderstorms Features Cumulonimbus clouds Heavy rainfall Lightning
Occasionally feature hail

2. Thunderstorms Occurrence 2000 in progress at any one time
100,000 per year in the United States
Most frequent in Florida and eastern Gulf Coast region

3. Average Number of Days per Year with Thunderstorms

4. Thunderstorms All thunderstorms require Warm air Moist air
Instability (lifting)
High surface temperatures
Most common in the afternoon and early evening

5. Thunderstorms Require continuous supply of warm air and moisture
Each surge causes air to rise higher
Updrafts and downdrafts form
Eventually precipitation forms
Most active stage
Gusty winds, lightning, hail
Heavy precipitation
Cooling effect of precipitation marks the end of thunderstorm activity

6. Thunderstorm Development

7. Tornadoes Local storms of short duration Features Violent windstorm
Rotating column of air that extends down from a cumulonimbus cloud
Low pressures inside causes the air to rush into the tornado
Winds approach 480 km (300 miles) per hour
Smaller suction vortices can form inside stronger tornadoes

8. Tornadoes Occurrence and development
Most frequent from April through June
Associated with severe thunderstorms
Exact cause of tornadoes formation is not known

9. Tornado Formation

10. Tornadoes Occur most often along a cold front
Most occur during the spring months
Associated with huge thunderstorms called supercells

11. Tornadoes Characteristics
Diameter between 150 and 600 meters (500 and 2000 feet)
Speed across landscape is about 45 kilometers (30 miles) per hour
Cut about a 10 km (6 miles) long path
Maximum winds range beyond 500 kilometers (310 miles) per hour

12. Tornado Intensity – Enhanced Fujita Scale

13. Tornado Occurrence

14. Tornadoes Tornado Destruction Tornado forecasting
Depends on strength of winds
Most injuries and deaths from flying debris
Fewer than 2% of U.S. tornados result in fatalities
Tornado forecasting
Difficult to forecast because of their small size

15. Tornado Damage

18. Tornadoes Tornado watch
To alert the public to the possibility of tornadoes
Issued when the conditions are favorable
Covers 65,000 square km (25,000 square miles)
Tornado warning is issued when a tornado is sighted or is indicated by weather radar
Use of Doppler radar helps increase the accuracy by detecting the air motion

19. Doppler Radar