#supercell thunderstorms my beloved :D

[syn4k]

some more cool facts about thunderstorms that you can use in your writing:

while tornadoes are incredibly dangerous and destructive, a far more common and possibly deadly threat to be aware of during storms are straight-line winds! when a thunderstorm collapses, all of the air in it flows downwards and scatters in random directions across the ground in straight lines, picking up momentum. these events are called microbursts or downbursts. straight line winds are only classified as such when they exceed a speed of 50-60 mph (~80-97 kmh). microbursts have been known to rip the roofs and shutters off of houses, overturn vehicles, and launch heavy wooden beams into the air.

broad swaths of straight line winds that occur at the front of particularly large and strong storm systems are called derechos. derechos can last for hundreds or even thousands of miles before dissipating and are only classified as such when their damage exceeds 240 miles (~386 km) and if the wind speeds exceeded 58 mph (~93 kmh). due to their size and strength, derechos can cause catastrophic and widespread damage. they're often found in the Great Plains areas during storm season in spring and summer.

single-cell thunderstorms, often called "popcorn" storms, are brief, weak storms that pop up and die out usually within an hour, most often caused by the ground heating up in summer.

multi-cell storms are a common variety of thunderstorm in which several cells of storms form a line or group, called a squall line. individual cells may last from 30 to 60 minutes, but the group as a whole may take hours to die out.

supercells are huge, long-lasting, highly organized storms centered around updrafts (rising air), which can be up to 10 miles (16 km) wide and 50,000 feet (15km) tall. most of the most dangerous and destructive tornadoes come from supercells.

the big, overhanging cloud that stretches over a supercell is called the anvil!

a line of clouds that precedes and accompanies the supercell around its edges is called the flanking line.

(source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory - Severe Weather 101)