Have you ever noticed that thunderstorms seem to pop up on hot, humid afternoons? There’s a reason! On a sunny summer day, the sun heats the ground, which warms the air above it. That warm air starts to rise, and as it climbs higher into the atmosphere, it cools and turns into clouds.
If there is enough heat and moisture in the air, those clouds can grow into giant thunderstorms called cumulonimbus clouds! Inside these clouds, water droplets and ice particles collide, creating electrical charges that eventually lead to lightning and thunder! Thunder and lightning are the ultimate weather duo, just like peanut butter and jelly. You can’t have one without the other!
So the next time you hear thunder after a hot summer day, remember that it's the sun’s energy that helped fuel that thunderstorm!
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