STORM ANATOMY · INTERACTIVE LESSON 3/8
Inside a thunderstorm
Peel back the cloud to discover two opposing flows. Follow warm air upward and rain-cooled air back to the ground.
ILLUSTRATIVE 3D MODELMotion paused
Results are also explained in the controlsNot to scale
YOUR EXPERIMENT
Open the cutaway and compare all three stages.
Peel back the cloud
An updraft carries warm, moist air into the cloud.
Warm updraftCool downdraft / rainIce particles
Rotate the cloud after opening the cutaway. The pale crystals represent ice aloft; their size is exaggerated to make them visible.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
The science behind the scene
An ordinary thunderstorm begins with rising air. In its mature stage, updrafts and downdrafts coexist. As the supply of rising air weakens, the downdraft dominates and the storm dissipates. Ice appears in the cold upper part of the cloud; the diagram compresses time and height and does not predict severe weather.
National Weather Service · Thunderstorm life cycleMAKE IT YOURS
Open the cutaway and compare all three stages.
Complete the experiment above to unlock.