Why thunderstorms happen after hot weather as Met Office explains the science

A weather expert has explained why thunderstorms tend to come after periods of hot weather as the UK saw thunder and lightning hit over the weekend.

As the Met Office explains, the key ingredients for a thunderstorm are atmospheric instability and humidity, reports Hull Live. Thunderstorms usually occur when there is increased moisture in the system and they typically develop in the afternoon after continuous hot weather from earlier in the day. Thunderstorms are a regular feature on our planet. The Met Office reports that lightning strikes the Earth's surface about 44 times every second, adding up to nearly 1.4 billion strikes annually.

Graeme Madge from the Met Office described thunderstorms as "one of the most dramatic and most intense" weather events in the UK, capable of releasing vast amounts of moisture suddenly and "incredibly intensively".

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