Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Air Mass Thunderstorms Isolated storms generated by daytime heating of land surface Convection Cell Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Severe Thunderstorms Thunderstorms with high winds, hail and possibly tornados Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Mesoscale Convective System Long-lived, intense cluster of convection cells Mesoscale Convective Complexes Large circular complex of thunderstorms active during the night Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Squall line Line of severe thunderstorms and very strong winds Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Dry line Boundary between hot, dry air and warm, moist air, which tends to form squall line Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Lightning electrical discharge producing light from cloud to cloud or cloud to ground Thunder sound of rapid expansion & cooling of superheated air around a lightning bolt Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Charge Separation Difference in charge between cloud top and bottom Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Lightning stroke Complex series of processes which produce electrical discharge between cloud and ground Leader Channel of ionized air along which lightning stroke propagates Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Tornado Small, intense cyclonic storm characterized by a funnel descending from mesocyclone Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Tornado Dynamics Wind Shear Convection