Severe storms

How high into the sky can thunderstorms develop – what are the highest even measured thunderstorms? The strongest updrafts reach the tropopause and produce overshooting tops. The highest storms in …

Mammatus clouds form on the underside of a thunderstorm’s anvil. Their name comes from the Latin word mamma, meaning “udder” or “breast”. They appear as pouch-like structures protruding from underneath …

A back-sheared anvil is the expression for a cumulonimbus anvil that spreads against (upwind) into relatively strong winds (jet stream) aloft. Anvil vs. wind As the anvil is forming, it …

Overshooting tops develop on thunderstorms that have particularly strong updrafts. Overshooting tops typically develop on Cumulonimbus capillatus incus clouds. The updraft punches through the equilibrium level (and thus the anvil), …