Thunderstorm is a frightening weather phenomenon that makes it clear to all of us that it is too tough for humanity to argue with nature. But the raging thunderstorm, accompanied by deafening thunder and monstrous rain, may be somewhat cozy, especially if you look at it from behind the window, sipping hot tea and wrapping yourself in a warm checkered rug.
Thunderstorm is one of the most dangerous natural phenomena for people. More human lives take only natural floods. Every minute on Earth about 1500 thunderstorms rage, and the average intensity of lightning hitting the surface of the planet is 100 discharges per second. Above the terrestrial bodies of water (primarily, the oceans) there are 10 times more thunderstorms than over land. Most lightning (about 78%) is observed around the equator and in the tropics.
The maximum number of thunderstorms occurs in the central regions of Africa, while near the Earth’s poles such natural phenomena almost never occur. Most often, thunderstorms begin during the day, after noon, least often – before sunrise. In Russia, the leader in terms of thunderstorms is Arkhangelsk (about 20 thunderstorm days per year), while the outsider is Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with only one thunderstorm per year. The diameter of large thunderstorms can be tens of kilometers, and they last for several hours.
Most often, the thunderstorm front moves at a speed of 20 km / h, but sometimes the thunderstorm accelerates to even 80 km / h. During a thunderstorm, energy is generated comparable to a nuclear charge of 20 kilotons.
