Thunderstorm Facts

6/25/2018 (Permalink)

Be prepared for thunderstorms this summer

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service, approximately 1,800 thunderstorms are occurring at any given time, resulting in about 16-million thunderstorms each year. Most thunderstorms last about 30 minutes and are typically about 15 miles (24 km) in­ diameter. The two biggest threats associated with most thunderstorms are lightning and flash floods. To understand why thunderstorms occur more often during the warm months requires some understanding of thunderstorm basics.

Thunderstorms thrive under certain conditions. The two most basic elements that cause a thunderstorm to develop are:

• Moisture
• Rapidly rising warm air

Because moisture and warmth are crucial to thunderstorms, it makes sense that they would occur more often in the spring and summer, particularly in humid areas such as the southeastern United States. The high humidity, in conjunction with warm temperat­ures, creates massive amounts of warm, moist air rising into the atmosphere, where it can easily form a thunderstorm.

If the rainfall from a thunderstorm has damaged your residential or commercial property call SERVPRO of Haddon heights/Voorhees 24/7/365 at 856-566-338.