storm

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Storm over Panama City Beach

What causes thunder and lightning?

Read Next

High-oblique view of the extra-tropical unnamed cyclone that merged with Hurricane Earl is featured in this image taken by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station (Sept. 2010).

Is the Number of Hurricanes Increasing?

Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.

16 Questions About Earth’s Atmsophere and Weather Answered

Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree

Can Lightning Strike the Same Place Twice?

Kansas tornado over field. (twister, strom, weather, clouds)

How Do Tornadoes Form?

A tornado in rural Iowa sweeps dangerously near a farm. Weather storm

Why Does the United States Have More Tornadoes than Any Other Country?

Discover

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.

7 Deadliest Weapons in History

Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.

9 Memorials and Monuments in the United States

Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?

Drinking water is poured into a glass.

Water Fluoridation: Just the Facts

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Berries and leaves of the bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) plant. Poisonous plant

7 of the World’s Deadliest Plants

storm: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Deadly storms, some with up to 90-mph gusts, tore across more than a dozen states Tuesday. Now, more storms are ramping up flood risks • Apr. 30, 2025, 8:58 AM ET (CNN)

Photos and Videos

Storm over Panama City Beach

What causes thunder and lightning?

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

tornado thunderstorm whirlwind tropical storm windstorm cyclone blizzard haboob squall Beaufort scale earthquake famine tsunami landslide avalanche wildfire flood drought forest fire lahar

Key People

Espy, James Pollard

James Pollard Espy

American meteorologist

Quiz

Thunderstorm cumulonimbus clouds above Montana. weather storm thunderstorm atmospheric disturbance cumulonimbus clouds thunder and lightning Homepage blog 2011, science and technology

Clouds and Cloud Types

rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops

April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs

Lightning over a farm field. Weather electricity thunderstorm light energy tree

Facts You Should Know: Weather Quiz

Iceland, Glacier lagoon (Jokulsarlon)

Winter Weather Words Quiz

Umbrella colored like a rainbow sticking out above a sea of black umbrellas while it rains. (storm, weather)

Weather Words Vocabulary Quiz