storm

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Storm over Panama City Beach

What causes thunder and lightning?

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High-oblique view of the extra-tropical unnamed cyclone that merged with Hurricane Earl is featured in this image taken by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station (Sept. 2010).

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Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.

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Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree

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Kansas tornado over field. (twister, strom, weather, clouds)

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A tornado in rural Iowa sweeps dangerously near a farm. Weather storm

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An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

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A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

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Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.

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Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway

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Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017

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storm

meteorology

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 2, 2024 • Article History

Key People:: James Pollard Espy

Related Topics:: tornado; thunderstorm; whirlwind; tropical storm; windstorm

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Colorado weather: Storm to bring rain and snow showers • Nov. 2, 2024, 6:21 AM ET (CBS)

storm, violent atmospheric disturbance, characterized by low barometric pressure, cloud cover, precipitation, strong winds, and possibly lightning and thunder.

Storm is a generic term, popularly used to describe a large variety of atmospheric disturbances, ranging from ordinary rain showers and snowstorms to thunderstorms, wind and wind-related disturbances, such as gales, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, and sandstorms.

In meteorological terminology storm is restricted to a cyclone with a strong low pressure centre, strong winds, ranging from 103–117 kilometres per hour (64–73 miles per hour), accompanied by heavy precipitation, and at times, lightning and thunder. For specific types of storms, see thunderstorm; tornado; tropical cyclone.

Umbrella colored like a rainbow sticking out above a sea of black umbrellas while it rains. (storm, weather)

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Weather Words Vocabulary Quiz

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.