What is a thunderstorm? Determining its power is the most important task for modern weather forecasters. Everything you need to know about the thunderstorm for children and adults, including how to avoid the adverse effects of this phenomenon, is described later in the article.
What is a thunderstorm and lightning?
The first is, of course, an atmospheric phenomenon. And the second is one of its manifestations. Everything related to sudden changes in weather depends on the movement of air currents. Warm rises, while cold rises. If there is enough moisture in the air at a certain height above the ground, clouds form. The latter are of several types. Cumulonimbus clouds are mainly associated with thunderstorms. In general, thunderstorms can be divided into two subtypes: frontal (large-scale) and intra-mass (local). The first ones are very rare.
Usually a thunderstorm is accompanied by gusts of squally wind and heavy rainfall in the form of rain or hail. The latter is due to the fact that the thundercloud is large and heterogeneous in structure. In the lower part it consists of droplets of water, and at the top it is already made of grains of snow and ice. Moreover, the lower border can be at a height of five hundred or more meters above the ground. The upper edge of the cloud reaches seven kilometers. Different sized grains in the cloud constantly collide with each other and therefore receive an electric charge. Small ones rise up, and larger and heavier ones go down. The former carry a positive charge, the latter negative. Lightning occurs in two cases - as a discharge between two differently charged clouds or between a cloud and the surface of the Earth.
Thunder is inextricably linked with a thunderstorm. It can be defined as follows. Thunder is the sound vibrations of air that occur when heated after lightning passes through the atmosphere. Waves are usually reflected from objects on the surface of the earth and from clouds. Since light is far ahead of sound in speed, thunder is usually heard after a flash of lightning. And only if the bad weather is directly above the observer, these two phenomena seem almost simultaneous. And if you have a good idea of what a thunderstorm is, determining the distance to it is an important task. After all, this can give you time in order to find shelter. The sound moves at a speed of about 340 meters per second. So when you see lightning, start measuring time. Then divide the number of seconds by three. You will get an approximate distance in kilometers.
Concomitant adverse events
So, once again about what a thunderstorm is. We have already given her a definition. However, this is usually not just a flash of lightning and a deafening roar. By the way, the strength of the latter speaks of the power of the atmospheric phenomenon. As mentioned above, bad weather is usually accompanied by heavy, but short-term rain or hail.
The size of the grains of the latter also indicates the strength of the thunderstorm. In addition, the wind is getting stronger. In some cases, tornadoes can form. But the latter for the temperate latitudes, of course, a rarity. Fire can occur from lightning strikes into a tree or other objects. In general, this is a real bad weather.
For the smallest
Everyone knows that kids are very afraid of the sounds of thunder and lightning flashes. And therefore it is very important not only from the point of view of psychology, but also for the sake of safety during this phenomenon to monitor the kids. Many of them are so curious that they ask their elders about what a thunderstorm is. Knowledge is important for children, so tell your child about this weather phenomenon: why it occurs and why it is dangerous, what needs to be done during a thunderstorm.
How to protect yourself?
Here are some simple rules. If you are at home, do not go to the windows. Do not turn on household appliances, disconnect the external antenna. Try not to use wired telephony. Close all windows and doors. And if you have a stove at home, then a hood too. Do not go outside without special need.
If a thunderstorm has caught you on the street, move away from tall objects, especially from trees. Do not shelter in sheds and under sheds. Stay away from metal structures. If you are swimming in a river or sea, leave the water immediately. Swim on a boat - dock to the shore. In the forest, it is better to hide in the thicket among low trees. And if you are caught in a field in a thunderstorm, find some low place and sit with your hands over your head. Any metal objects must be put aside a few meters away from you. It is better to stop the car away from tall trees. Then you need to close all the windows and lower the external antenna.
So, in the article we talked about what a thunderstorm is, a definition was also given to this phenomenon. It is very unfavorable for a person, and it is better not to fall into a thunderstorm.