LANSING, Mich. — As we head into the spring season, we are also heading into the start of severe weather season here in Michigan. Throughout this week, we have been talking about the different types of significant weather we see here in Michigan during the warm seasons. Today we are talking about severe thunderstorms and their impacts.
As meteorologists, we look at a lot of different "ingredients" that help us know that we could see the potential for a thunderstorm. We need moisture, which could come from sources such as the Gulf of Mexico. We also need present instability, which is when an air parcel is warmer than the environment and rises independently. The final "ingredient" is a lifting mechanism such as a frontal passage at the surface.
However, the importance of thunderstorms also lies in what they produce. When Thunderstorms occur, we always have lightning even if we see it or not. Lightning occurs when electrons advance downward towards the surface in what as known as a "stepped leader". Once it makes its way towards the surface, it draws the positive charges from the surface upward until they merge where they create an electrical current flow. A return stroke is what we can see which travels 60,000 mi/sec and how we see the flicker of lightning. This whole process happens in less than a second.
Hail is also a possibility when talking about severe thunderstorms. An updraft is a small scale current of rising air within a cloud which when a frozen water droplet repeatedly travels through the freezing layer, it grows until it becomes too heavy, which then it will fall through and land on the surface. The stronger the updraft, the larger the hailstone (98 mph updraft -> Grapefruit sized hailstone).
As we head into these warming seasons, it is always a great idea to make sure you are weather aware and have a plan for the case severe weather breaks.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
For more news in your neighborhood, go to our In Your Neighborhood page on our website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
