| A | B |
|---|
| Air mass Thunderstorms | A thunderstorm that results as mT temperature moves northward from the Gulf of Mexico. |
| Cumulus Stage | First stage where the cloud continues to build to new heights. |
| Dart Leader | Similar to a step leader precedes each subsequent strike along the same path with less branches. |
| Dissipating Stage | Point where clouds downdrafts dominate the column and the falling of precipitation begins to end the thunderstorm activity. |
| Doppler Radar | A type of radar that has the ability to detect motion within a cloud. |
| Dryline | A narrow zone of abrupt moisture change where thunderstorms can develop. |
| Entrainment | The infiltration of surrounding air into a vertically-moving air column this process then intensifies the downdrafts. |
| Flash | The tenths of a seconds of combined discharges that create a lightning strike. |
| Fujita Intensity Scale (F-scale) | A scale used to determine the intensity of a tornado based on the destruction it produces. |
| Gust Front | Where gusts of warm air are pushed up because of spreading downdrafts. |
| Leader | First stroke in lighting following an ionized conductive pathway. |
| Lightning | An electric shock created by a thunderstorm. |
| Mature Stage | The most intense phase, with heavy rains and possible hail, in which downdrafts are side by side with updrafts. |
| Mesocyclone | A vertical cylinder of cyclonically rotating air that develops in the updraft of a severe storm and can lead to tornadoes. |
| Mesoscale Convective Complex (MCC) | Many different thunderstorms organized in to circular clusters. |
| Microbursts | Small downbursts associated with thunderstorms. |
| Multiple Vortex Tornadoes | Multiple Vortex Tornadoes: A tornado with smaller intense whirls of suction vortices that orbit the center of the large tornado. |
| Return Stroke | The real lightning strike where electric discharge results from the downward movement of electrons in successively higher levels. |
| Severe Thunderstorms | A thunderstorm who has the possibility of creating heavy downpours, flash flooding, large hail, straight-line winds, lighting, and possibly tornadoes. |
| Squall Lines | A small band of thunderstorms that can be severe. These develop in the warm sector of a middle-latitude cyclone. |
| Step Leader | The initial conductive path way that extends itself earthward in short nearly invisible bursts. |
| Strokes | The individual parts of a lighting flash. |
| Supercell | A dangerous thunderstorm that can exceed heights of 20Km and may persist for hours. |
| Thunder | Explosive sound waves created when air is heated by lightning. |
| Thunderstorm | A storm that generates lightning and thunder. |
| Tornado Warning | An alert to warn the public and local offices when an actual tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. |
| Tornado Watches | An alert to warn the public of a possible tornado over a specific area and time interval. |
| Tornadoes | Also known as twisters or cyclones are violent windstorms formed by a rotating column of air that extends down from a cumulonimbus cloud. |
