PPT: Thunderstorm | Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download

 Page 1


GEOGRAPHY 
CRASH COURSE
CAPSTONE IAS LEARNING
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GEOGRAPHY 
CRASH COURSE
CAPSTONE IAS LEARNING
Thunderstorm
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GEOGRAPHY 
CRASH COURSE
CAPSTONE IAS LEARNING
Thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
• Thunderstorms and tornadoes are severe local storms. They 
are of short duration, occurring over a small area but 
are violent.
• Thunderstorm is a storm with thunder and lightning and 
typically also heavy rain or hail.
• Thunderstorms mostly occur on ground where the 
temperature is high. Thunderstorms are less frequent on 
water bodies due to low temperature.
• Worldwide, there are an estimated 16 million thunderstorms 
each year, and at any given moment, there are roughly 2,000 
thunderstorms in progress.
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GEOGRAPHY 
CRASH COURSE
CAPSTONE IAS LEARNING
Thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
• Thunderstorms and tornadoes are severe local storms. They 
are of short duration, occurring over a small area but 
are violent.
• Thunderstorm is a storm with thunder and lightning and 
typically also heavy rain or hail.
• Thunderstorms mostly occur on ground where the 
temperature is high. Thunderstorms are less frequent on 
water bodies due to low temperature.
• Worldwide, there are an estimated 16 million thunderstorms 
each year, and at any given moment, there are roughly 2,000 
thunderstorms in progress.
Stages in the development of 
thunderstorm are
Cumulus stage:
• Warm, moist air rises in a buoyant plume or in a series of convective 
updrafts. 
• As this occurs the air begins to condense into a cumulus cloud. As the 
warm air within the cloud continues to rise, it eventually cools and 
condenses. 
• The condensation releases heat into the cloud, warming the air. This, in 
turn, causes it to rise adiabatically. 
• The convective cloud continues to grow upward, eventually growing above 
the freezing level where super-cooled water droplets and ice crystals 
coexist Precipitation begins once the air rises above the freezing level
Page 5


GEOGRAPHY 
CRASH COURSE
CAPSTONE IAS LEARNING
Thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
• Thunderstorms and tornadoes are severe local storms. They 
are of short duration, occurring over a small area but 
are violent.
• Thunderstorm is a storm with thunder and lightning and 
typically also heavy rain or hail.
• Thunderstorms mostly occur on ground where the 
temperature is high. Thunderstorms are less frequent on 
water bodies due to low temperature.
• Worldwide, there are an estimated 16 million thunderstorms 
each year, and at any given moment, there are roughly 2,000 
thunderstorms in progress.
Stages in the development of 
thunderstorm are
Cumulus stage:
• Warm, moist air rises in a buoyant plume or in a series of convective 
updrafts. 
• As this occurs the air begins to condense into a cumulus cloud. As the 
warm air within the cloud continues to rise, it eventually cools and 
condenses. 
• The condensation releases heat into the cloud, warming the air. This, in 
turn, causes it to rise adiabatically. 
• The convective cloud continues to grow upward, eventually growing above 
the freezing level where super-cooled water droplets and ice crystals 
coexist Precipitation begins once the air rises above the freezing level
Mature stage
• It is characterized by the presence of both updrafts and downdrafts 
within the cloud. 
• The downdrafts are initiated by the downward drag of falling 
precipitation.
• Cold descending air in the downdraft will often reach the ground before 
the precipitation. 
• As the mature-stage thunderstorm develops, the cumulus cloud 
continues to increase in size, height and width.
• Cloud to ground lightning usually begins when the precipitation first 
falls from the cloud base. During this phase of the life cycle, the top of 
the resulting cumulonimbus cloud will start to flatten out, forming an 
anvil shape often at the top of the troposphere.