This diagram shows you how a thunderstorm forms. In the first stage, air heated at the ground level rises rapidly and meets cold air. If the warm air contains a large amount of moisture, the moisture rapidly cools to liquid water as it rises. This allows for the formation of cumulus clouds. Because the warm air rises very rapidly, it results in a strong updraft. The air mass rises until it can go no further. In the final stage, the clouds can no longer hold their moisture, and they release a downpour of rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

A tornado is a violent rotating column of air over land. Tornadoes can have wind speeds of over 300 miles per hour, and they can occur anywhere on Earth. They form when storms have winds in different levels of the atmosphere blowing in different directions. When the winds line up in just the right way, they begin to spin like a top.

A hurricane is a large storm system that produces strong winds and heavy rain. Hurricanes form over water but may crash into land, often causing severe damage when they do. They form over warm ocean waters in the summer and fall. As water evaporates from the warm oceans and then cools in the atmosphere, it gives off energy (called the latent heat of condensation). Normally, winds dissipate this energy. If the winds do not dissipate this energy, the heat builds up, and winds begin to blow in a circular fashion. They build up energy and move across the ocean with great force.