What a Storm! 

Last night we had a thunderstorm. In fact it’s still happening! ! That’s 14 hours of thunder and lightening !  

The lightening was so bright that it lit up the whole sky. 

We were all kept awake at Jumble House but it was fun to watch! 

So, what IS a thunderstorm and why do we have them? 

Well, thunderstorms usually occur in hot, humid weather and for the past week it has been very hot and humid! 

We say it is humid when we feel warm and sticky. This is because the air is heavy with moisture (water vapour). 

Hot air rises and when this hot air is also full of water it builds up into great big peaks of cloud. These clouds have a very big name too!  CUMULONIMBUS.  They are very angry clouds with storms raging inside ! 

The cloud becomes fuller and fuller with water and when it can hold no more it lets it all go and we have very heavy rain. 

Lightening happens because the air rising inside the cloud carries a negative charge of electricity. 

But the raindrops falling to the bottom of the cloud carry a positive charge. 

When these charges meet inside the cloud there is a violent  battle and sparks of electricity are made. This is the lightening.  The lightening is very very hot. This heat makes the air around get bigger (expand) and then suddenly get smaller agsin (contract). This expansion and contraction makes the b a n g . The thunder. 

A storm is fun to watch but please keep safe! 

• Don’t shelter under trees…keep low on the ground. 
• Keep away from anything made of metal like poles and fences.
• Keep out of  water and that includes puddles! 
• If you are indoors unplug all computers and electronic equipment and the TV.
• It’s fun to watch but don’t get too close to the window.

Just look at this video we took during the night! 
A very long storm