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Doppler radars also let us see how the wind is blowing within and near the storm. Radars let us see where rain and hail are located in the storm. In addition to actually seeing them, how are thunderstorms detected? We can see thunderstorms with a variety of tools. Is there a specific thunderstorm season? Consider contacting your local National Weather Service Forecast Office because they will be more in tune with your local climatology. The surface direction of wind varies depending on your location (northern/southern hemisphere, and even coastal/plains/mountains), and what weather patterns usually affect the area. Where warm moist air is forced to rise by hills, mountains, or areas where warm/cold or wet/dry air bump together, thunderstorms can form. What direction does the wind come from during a thunderstorm? There is no one direction the wind comes from when thunderstorms or tornadoes occur. The NOAA National Climatic Data Center maintains the official national database for weather. The Storm Prediction Center documents storm reports, but the official designation is left up to the local National Weather Service Office. The local National Weather Service office in the area of the storm conducts damage surveys from severe weather events. Learn more about NSSL field projects→ Where can I find out information about a storm? Several places will have storm information.
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What we do: More than 100 researchers from NOAA, NSSL and 29 other organizations collaborated on a field project to discover how thunderstorms act like elevators, taking pollution, electrical activity and water-rich air from the surface and lofting it straight up into the upper troposphere. But thunderstorms are not the only way the atmosphere conducts electricity – the solar wind and ionospheric wind play a role too. Without thunderstorms and lightning, the earth-atmosphere electrical balance would disappear in five minutes! We aren't really sure what would happen if this balance wasn't maintained. Thunderstorms help transfer the negative charges back to earth (lightning is generally negatively charged). There is always a steady current of electrons flowing upwards from the entire surface of the earth. The Earth's surface and the atmosphere conduct electricity easily – the Earth is charged negatively and the atmosphere, positively. Thunderstorms also help keep the Earth in electrical balance. As the thunderstorm progresses, eventually the rain cools the entire process down and the energy is gone. A large amount of the thunderstorm's energy comes from the condensation process that forms the thunderstorm clouds. As the water vapor condenses it releases heat, which is a form of energy. When warm moist air meets colder drier air, the warm air rises, the water vapor condenses in the air, and forms a cloud.
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Supercell Why are there thunderstorms? Thunderstorms are a great way for the atmosphere to release energy.