how are thunderstorms predicted?
139427
it is when 2 pressure systems meet, I think they just follow barometric pressures and estimate where they will meet
470040
Low and high pressure systems and air currents push and pull the CURRENT weather in one place into other places.  \nWhen certain types of weather conditions combine, they produce a third weather condition, such as cold air meeting humid hot air produces thunderstorms. \nWeather reporters observe existing conditions and extend their their motion to see where they will be in the future.\nAlthough it is not the most exciting thing on TV, if you watch the weather report on the news for your area, they will usually provide a 'weather in motion' map and tell WHY they are predicting what they are predicting.
339106
Thunderstorms mostly originate at low pressure areas. The low pressure draws in air and clounds of different electric charges which when they collide gives lightning.
30909
They may calculate the odds of precipitation, how long it will take for the temperature to rise and fall based upon influences and when those influences will occur, how fast storms are travelling, how fast wind speed are, changing Fahrenheit to Celcius and vice versa.
503525
Lightning is formed by the convective processes that occur in a thunderstorm.  You'll have the warm, moist suface layer of air with the cold, dry layer of air aloft.  The natural balance of the atmosphere makes the warm air want to rise.  This gives strong updrafts of air can help create charge differences (warm humid surface air rises and cools, condenses into waterdroplets which have different charge the ice crystals in the upper atmosphere) which can cause lightning.\n\nIn a snowstorm (or winter in general) the surface layer is cold with low dewpoints (dry), so you generally won't find these updrafts and convection found in summer thunderstorms to create lightning.\n\nHowever sometimes the conditions can bring enough warmer air, moisture and instability to cause lightning and thunder.  Check out the link provided for more in depth details.\n\nThe thunder from thundersnow is not heard at very large distances, which makes it seem even rarer.  Snow absorbs a lot of the sound, so it will only be heard about a mile or two away.
533042
Well now for an answer that is actually worth something:\n\nWeather stations around the country keep track of ALL the conditions every hour of every day of every year.  Temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind, cloud cover, barametric presure, etc...\n\nIn the future when the weatherman appears on the news and say that tomorrow there is a 60% chance of rain, they mean that when they looked at the past records to similar days--days when the temperature, humidity, cloud cover, barametric pressure, etc... was identical, it rained 60% of the time.  Of course it is not 100% accurate but they use previous events to predict future events.\n\nIt is the exact same thing that doctors do.  They look to previous symptoms and what disease they led to, so when YOU go to the doctor with those same symptoms, they know that you are on the same road to the same disease.
825004
Probably just the weather changing quickly ? We had a thunderstorm a few weeks ago, except it was snowing with it. Really warm before it and really cold afterwards... I'm sure it's nothing to alarm yourself over.
460225
By using computer models that process all kinds of information, wind speeds, temperatures, moisture, etc. The models looks at the current weather systems and extrapolate what the weather will be. Then using that and other available information, what time of year is it? Where are you located geographically? He makes a prediction. Bear in mind that the further out a forecast is the more unreliable it is.
1158779
Storms are created when a center of low pressure develops, with a system of high pressure surrounding it. This combination of opposing forces can create winds and result in the formation of storm clouds, such as the cumulonimbus. Small, localized areas of low pressure can form from hot air rising off hot ground, resulting in smaller disturbances such as dust devils and whirlwinds.
349724
Anyone who thinks man can control the weather has no concept of the energy involved in a simple thunderstorm not to mention a tornado or hurricane. \n\nBut before you can control the weather, you need to be able to predict it. So when the weather forecasts become accurate, I'll start worrying about the government controlling.
988117
there's a phenomena called Virga, that occurs frequently that could be the cause of this...Virga is rain that doesn't actually reach the surface, and its possible if the thunderstorm just doesn't have enough moisture in them..but..most likely..is that the thunderstorm isn't mature enough to start raining yet..and will most likely start a few miles down the road\n\nThunder occurs anytime theres lightning, and Cloud to cloud lightning is very frequent, and isn't affected by the amount of precipitation in the cloud (although more precip will mean a stronger storm).\n\nYou're most likely hearing the thunder caused by cloud to cloud lighting..and the storm is not yet strong enough to begin precipitation at the surface
502323
Weather is a chaotic system; predicting it is difficult and only as accurate as the input data. Most TV and newspaper weather is very generalized - mass media is just entertainment and advertising, so you really shouldn't expect more than that. Military and agricultural forecasts are much more accurate but aren't free. It's been mathematically demonstrated that, even with the very best data possible, weather forecasts will never, ever be able to predict much more than 14 days out. Beyond that, things are just too chaotic.\n\nFor an example of truly accurate non-media weather forecasts, checkout SkyBit:\nhttp://www.skybit.com/cgi-bin/nav.cgi
872937
Erm...well, Instead of saying immediate effects, you could say Primary effects. Sounds more professional :P\nHurricanes tear buildings apart blah blah.\n\nThey can be predicted with signs of violent winds, killer waves, torrential rains and flash flooding.\nIt's usually predicted for a hurricane 'season'\nThe specialists could look at the weather from the satelites in space with the amount of movement in the wind, and the weather. [I think]\n\nI know the hurricanes are born over water and when it reaches land, it starts to loose power.
556034
You obviously have no concept of the energy involved in even a simple thunderstorm. Short of multiple thermo-nuclear bombs, there is no feasible way to deliver the energy necessary to match even a strong tropical depression. Oh, and then there is the problem of controlling the result. \n\nUntil scientists can predict the weather accurately, there is no way they can control it.\n\nAs to Tsunami's, these are not a weather event but rather the result of a earthquake. In the realm of large energy releases, this type of event makes the biggest hurricane seems like a hiccup.
31056
No, it means that you should take your umbrella with you, because the humidity in the air, and the pressure system suggest it could rain.  Weather prediction isn't exact science, so basically... they never KNOW for a fact if it is raining or not... no matter what percent they give.
36815
From the National Weather Service:\n\nWhen we talk about rainfall, we usually refer to it as being either showers or rain. If we are forecasting showers, we expect the rain to fall on an intermittent basis and from cumulus-type clouds. The showers may vary greatly in intensity over just a few minutes or a few miles. For example, lets say that the forecast for today is calling for a chance of showers. That means that if the rain does develop, it will be on and off, rather scattered, may vary in intensity over just a couple of minutes, and fall from cumulus-type clouds.\n\nIf the forecast for today called for rain, it means we expect the rain to fall rather steadily and from a flat, stratus-type of cloud, and won't change much in intensity from hour to hour. It also means that the rain will fall over a fairly large area, not like showers, which usually fall over smaller areas.
518530
A detailed forecast for that far ahead is not likely to be particularly accurate.  Mathematical predictions suffer from compounding of small errors which build up over a period of time so that a forecast which may be pretty accurate for 3 days time becomes less so for 5 days and might be rather vague for 10 days ahead.  The movements of air in the atmosphere is quite chaotic and difficult to predict in any case.\n\nIt also depends on the sort of weather - rapidly changing conditions are more difficult to predict.  Here in the UK it is notoriously difficult to predict snowfall with any accuracy as a small difference in temperature can mean the difference between a rainstorm and a blizzard.