How tall are thunderstorms

Warmer, less dense air rises upward, creating lift. As the air lifts higher and higher, it causes a storm cloud to grow taller and taller.

Thunderstorm clouds can rise up to 10 miles into the air! In a big thunderstorm cloud, there are now strong upward winds and downward winds happening at the same time. These are called updrafts and downdrafts. This is the most dangerous stage of the storm, when tornadoes, hail, winds and flooding can happen. How do cumulonimbus clouds form? What weather is associated with cumulonimbus clouds?

How do we categorise cumulonimbus clouds? Cumulonimbus clouds have 3 distinct 'species' which describe the appearance of the head of the cloud: Cumulonimbus calvus - the top of the cumulonimbus is puffy, like a cumulus cloud.

The water droplets at the top of the cloud tower have not frozen to become ice crystals. Cumulonimbus capillatus - the top of the cloud is fibrous but relatively contained.

Water droplets have started to freeze, usually indicating rain has begun or will begin soon. Cumulonimbus incus - the top of the cloud is fibrous and anvil-shaped, as the cloud has continued to grow. If the cloud reaches the top of the troposphere and still wishes to grow, it must do so outwards, creating the picturesque anvil or 'incus'. While each storm is different, most supercells usually have the following parts:.

There are three types of supercells: low precipitation, classic and high precipitation. The definitions of these types are exactly what you would expect, but they have some different consequences. LP supercells usually form in dry regions, where there might be just enough moisture to form the storm, but not enough moisture to rain very hard. You can usually find the updraft on the rear flank back of the storm, and the meso will be more defined and obvious. On radar, an LP will not show up as a hook echo because there's not enough precipitation within the storm to provide the reflectivity.

These storms might not look that strong, but they can pack a punch. LP supercells often produce tornadoes and large hail. The classic, textbook supercell looks much like the figure above. The storm will have a flat updraft base and potentially a wall cloud underneath the updraft. The precipitation rain and hail will fall adjacent to the updraft, usually underneath the forward flank downdraft FFD. If the conditions are right, a tornado will form underneath the wall cloud.

HP supercells usually have the updraft on the forward flank front of the storm, and the precip surrounds the updraft, from the FFD to the rear flank downdraft RFD. The wall cloud and potential tornado will be "rain-wrapped" within the "bear's cage" and difficult to observe. Rain and hail is extreme in these storms, and flash flooding usually occurs.