Thunderstorm: Formation, Types and Effects | Earth Eclipse

Weather Flash | How does a thunderstorm form?

Florida summer storms are called "pulse" thunderstorm, as they develop and decay quickly, or "pulse up and down". Here we see a great example of this life cycle in a storm over Bradenton, FL last week. The rain/hail develops aloft around 20kft, and then quickly descends to the ground. The entire cycle is less than 30 minutes long. The fact that these storms quickly develop aloft, seemingly over our heads, is why lightning becomes a serious threat before the first rain drops have even reached the