What is a thunderstorm? Hazard identification and precautions

What is a thunderstorm? Determining its power is the most important task for modern weather forecasters. Everything you need to know about the thunderstorm to children and adults, including how to avoid the adverse consequences of this phenomenon, is described further in the article.

What is thunder and lightning?

The first is, of course, an atmospheric phenomenon. And the second is one of its manifestations. All that is associated with sudden changes in the weather, depends on the movement of air currents. Warm climbs up, and the cold moves down. If there is a sufficient amount of moisture in the air at a certain height above the ground, clouds form. The latter are of several kinds. Cumulonimbus clouds are associated with thunderstorms. In general, thunderstorms can be divided into two subtypes: frontal (scale) and intramuscular (local). The first are very rare.

Usually a thunderstorm is accompanied by gusts of squally wind and strong precipitation in the form of rain or hail. The latter is due to the fact that the storm cloud is large and in its structure is not homogeneous. In the lower part it consists of droplets of water, and at the top already from grains of snow and ice. And the lower boundary can be at a height of five hundred or more meters above the ground. The upper edge of the cloud reaches seven kilometers. Different in size pellets in the cloud constantly collide with each other and therefore receive an electric charge. The small ones rise up, and the larger and heavier ones go down. The first carry a positive charge, the second negative. Lightning occurs in two cases - as a discharge between two differently charged clouds or between a cloud and the Earth's surface.

Thunder is inextricably linked with a thunderstorm. The definition of him can be given the following. Thunder is the sound vibrations of the air that arise when heated after passing through the atmosphere of lightning. Waves, as a rule, are reflected from objects on the surface of the earth and from clouds. Since the speed of light greatly outstrips the sound, thunder is heard to us usually 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 are well aware of what a thunderstorm is, determining the distance to it is an important task. It can give you time to find shelter. The sound moves at about 340 meters per second. So when you see the lightning, start measuring the time. Then divide the number of seconds by three. You will get the approximate distance in kilometers.

Adverse Adverse Events

So, once again about what a thunderstorm is. We have already given her the definition. However, usually this is not just a flash of lightning and a deafening roar. By the way, the strength of the latter speaks about the power of the atmospheric phenomenon. As already mentioned above, bad weather is usually accompanied by a strong, but a short rain or hail.

The size of the grains of the latter also speaks of the power of a thunderstorm. In addition, the wind increases. In some cases, a tornado can form. But the latter for temperate latitudes, of course, a rarity. There may be fires from lightning strikes into a tree or other objects. In general, this is a real bad weather.

For the little ones

Everyone knows that kids are very afraid of the sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning. 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 follow the children. Many of them are so curious that they question the elders about what a thunderstorm is. For children, knowledge is important, so tell the child about this weather phenomenon: why it arises and what is dangerous, what to do during a thunderstorm.

How to protect yourself?

Here are a few simple rules. If you are at home, do not go near the windows. Do not turn on household appliances, disconnect the external antenna. Try not to use a wired telephone. Close all windows and doors. And if you have a stove at home, then the hood too. Do not go out without special need.

If the storm caught you on the street, move away from high objects, especially from trees. Do not shelter in barns and under canopies. Stay away from metal structures. If you bathe in the river or the sea, immediately leave the water. Sail on a boat - get to the beach. In the forest it is better to hide in the thicket among the low trees. And if you fell under a thunderstorm in the field, find some low place and sit with your head in your hands. Any metal objects need to be put a few meters away from yourself. The car is best to stop away from tall trees. Then you need to close all windows and lower the external antenna.

So, in the article we talked about what a thunderstorm is, the definition of this phenomenon was also given. It is very unfavorable for a person, and it is better not to fall into a thunderstorm.