Thunderstorms are impressive and terrifying natural phenomena. Rattling the earth with sharp, explosive sounds of thunder, and lighting up the sky with electric bolts of lightning. As Mark Twain once said, "Thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it's lightning that does the work."
Thunderstorms are defined in terms of their electrical manifestations which in fact are a product of the storm itself. The development of a thunderstorm is a continuous process but there are three recognizable stages through which the storm goes ((Hidore).
The first stage is the cumulus stage. During this stage cumulus clouds become larger and taller. There is a general updraft throughout the cloud formation and condensation in the form of water particles. The updrafts are strongest toward the top of the cloud, whether velocities may be as high as 100 ft. per second (over 60 mph) (Hidore). Temperatures within the cloud are usually higher for a given altitude than in the surrounding air.
The second stage occurs only if instability results at heights reached by the rising air column. The most intense storm activity exists in this stage. At this point rapid condensation takes place and precipitation begins within the cloud and subsequently may reach the ground. Precipitation may take place as high as 25,000 feet in a strong cell (Schaefer and Day).
The strongest updrafts and downdrafts are associated with the second or mature stage of the thunderstorm. It is during this stage that the rapid cauliflower growth takes place which may, in extreme cases extend upward to the tropopause. Downdrafts are started by the friction of the falling precipitation and after they once start are self-perpetuating. Temperatures in the downdraft are cooler than those in the updrafts and the subsiding air spreads out along the ground around the storm due to its greater density. This is also the stage in the storm's history when lightning is most act...