thunderstorm
Lightning produces thunder. This topic is part of Weather within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 20 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
thunderstorm trivia questions
A thunderstorm must include what by definition?
Answer: Thunder and lightning
Bonus fact: Lightning produces thunder.
What cloud type produces thunderstorms?
Answer: Cumulonimbus
Bonus fact: Deep convection creates cumulonimbus clouds.
What are the three basic life-cycle stages of a single-cell thunderstorm?
Answer: Developing, mature, and dissipating
Bonus fact: Updrafts dominate development, while downdrafts dominate dissipation.
Which cloud type is typically tall, dense, and associated with thunderstorms?
Answer: Cumulonimbus
Bonus fact: Cumulonimbus clouds can produce heavy rain, lightning, hail, and severe weather.
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to what?
Answer: Ground
Bonus fact: Tornadoes connect a storm cloud with the surface.
What type of thunderstorm produces many strong tornadoes?
Answer: Supercell
Bonus fact: Supercells have rotating updrafts.
What ring of intense thunderstorms surrounds a hurricane's eye?
Answer: Eyewall
Bonus fact: The eyewall contains the storm's strongest winds and heaviest rain.
What weather phenomenon is an electrical discharge from a thunderstorm cloud?
Answer: Lightning
Bonus fact: Thunder is the sound caused when lightning rapidly heats and expands the surrounding air.
In the NWS three-stage thunderstorm life cycle, which stage is most likely to produce hail, heavy rain, frequent lightning, strong winds, and tornadoes?
Answer: Mature stage
Bonus fact: A mature thunderstorm can reach roughly 40,000 to 60,000 feet in depth.
What is the leading edge of a thunderstorm’s downdraft called?
Answer: Gust front
Bonus fact: A gust front can create a sharp wind shift and sometimes trigger new thunderstorms.
What is the typical lifetime of a single thunderstorm cell?
Answer: About 30 to 60 minutes
Bonus fact: Thunderstorm cells pass through developing, mature, and dissipating stages.
A mature thunderstorm often reaches approximately what vertical depth?
Answer: 40,000 to 60,000 feet
Bonus fact: The mature stage is also when hail, heavy rain, lightning, strong winds, and tornadoes are most likely.