The Short Answer: A tornado forms from a large thunderstorm. Inside thunderclouds, warm, humid air rises, while cool air falls–along with rain or hail.
What is the difference between Thunder and a tornado?
The rapid heating and cooling of air near the lightning causes thunder. Lightning is a major threat during a thunderstorm. Although rare in our region, tornadoes are the most violent weather phenomena known. A tornado is characterized by a twisting, funnel-shaped cloud.
Inside thunderclouds, warm, humid air rises, while cool air falls–along with rain or hail. These conditions can cause spinning air currents inside the cloud. Although the spinning currents start out horizontal, they can turn vertical and drop down from the cloud–becoming a tornado.
What happens when a tornado hits the ground?
Tornados (also known as “twisters”) are dangerous and destructive storms. They begin as funnel clouds with high winds, and once they touch down on the ground, they are called tornados. They cause heavy rain, thunder, lightning, flash flooding, and hail.
Can thunder cause an earthquake?
Thunderstorms, lightning, cyclones, and earthquakes are few natural phenomena that can cause a large-scale destruction of life and property. We can predict them to a certain extent but not perfectly.
People typically associate lightning with storm clouds, as shown here. But in some rare instances, earthquakes appear to generate the same electrical discharge.
Importantly, both studies say weather impacts can accelerate an earthly act that was bound to happen sooner or later. In other words, low pressure is not the cause of an earthquake, just the trigger. The findings follow warnings about strengthening thunderstorms related to higher levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases.
What causes lightning and Thunder?
In a fraction of a second, lightning heats the air around it to incredible temperatures—as hot as 54,000 °F (30,000 °C). That’s five times hotter than the surface of the Sun! The heated air expands explosively, creating a shockwave as the surrounding air is rapidly compressed. The air then contracts rapidly as it cools.
My best answer was a thunderstorm occurs when there is an unstable atmosphere and where cold air meets hot air. The hot air rises, and as it reaches the colder air, it forms water droplets. This process is called convection.
In fact, thunder is a shock wave. Lightning is a powerful discharge of electricity moving through air. Air is a poor conductor of electricity, so when lightning bolts burst through air, the air acts as a resistor (i. e. a substance that impedes the flow of electricity).
That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. We can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile. If the thunder follows the lightning almost instantly, you know the lightning is too close for comfort!
Can Thunder be so loud that it is dangerous?
Of course, some strikes can produce thunder with a very high d, and b. The sound of the thunder decreases with distance, so most strikes you hear are not dangerous. For the comparison of another loud sound, on May 18, 1980, I was in my garden seventeen miles outside of Walla Walla in the Blue Mtn. where I heard Mt, St, Helens erupting 267 miles away.