What Causes ‘Thunderstorms’ and How Are They Formed?

Thunderstorms are like big, wild parties in the sky. They happen when warm air rises and meets cool air, it’s like a hot balloon meeting a cold breeze. The warm air carries water up high into the clouds, where it turns back into rain or snow. When that happens, it makes lightning and thunder, just like a loud shout from the sky.

Take the quiz →

Examples

A hot summer day makes air rise up in the sky like a balloon, creating clouds that turn into thunderstorms.
When you see lightning in the sky, it's like a giant spark between two charged clouds.
Thunder is just the sound of the air exploding from the heat of a lightning strike.

Ask a question

Discussion

Recent activity

Categories: Science · weather,thunderstorm,atmosphere