Thunderstorm

A thunderstorm, also called an electrical storm or lightning storm, is a storm marked by the presence of lightning and thunder, occurring in cumulonimbus clouds; a relatively weak one is sometimes called a thundershower. Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by strong winds and often produce heavy rain and sometimes snow, sleet or hail, though some produce little or no precipitation, and they can line up into a rainband known as a squall line. The most severe thunderstorms, called supercells, rotate like cyclones and rank among the most dangerous weather phenomena, capable of producing large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes; while most thunderstorms move with the prevailing wind through the troposphere, vertical wind shear can deflect their path at a right angle to the shear direction.