By admin_wla |
Local storm resulting from warm humid air rising in an unstable environment. Air may start moving upward because of unequal surface heating, the lifting of warm air along a frontal zone, or diverging upper-level winds (these diverging winds draw air up beneath them). The scattered thunderstorms that develop in the summer are called air-mass thunderstorms because they form in warm, maritime tropical air masses away from other weather fronts. More violent severe thunderstorms form in areas with a strong vertical wind shear that forces the updraft into the mature stage, the most intense stage of the thunderstorm. Severe thunderstorms can produce large hail, forceful winds, flash floods, and tornadoes. Source: NASA (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Glossary)
