How do thunderstorms occur?
Thunderstorm Conditions The National Weather Service estimates that close to 44,000 thunderstorms occur every day on Earth. That’s close to 16 million thunderstorms a year. With the energy equivalent of a 20-kiloton nuclear weapon, thunderstorms are one of nature’s most powerful displays of might. They most commonly occur over land in the afternoon, when the sun heats up the lower atmosphere. Thunderstorms are generated naturally from changes in atmospheric temperature. They help stabilize the environment by expending excess water vapor into the upper troposphere. Clouds are filled with water vapor and become unstable when warm air in lower regions of the atmosphere rise and clash with cooler air masses. This is the basic principle of convection, whereby heat is naturally transferred through a fluid, like air or water. This process is repeated over and over again inside the developing thunderstorm. Warm water vapor forms a towering cloud that can rise eight to 12 miles into the sky. Th
