Thunderstorm Image Gallery

Click on images for full size.

This thunderstorm was seen at sunset near Abilene, Texas on May 17, 1978.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
This image of multiple cloud-to-ground lightning strokes was taken during a night time thunderstorm in Norman, Oklahoma in March 1978.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
During this 1982 thunderstorm, when the rain-cooled air moved out ahead of the storm, it went under warm moist air, creating a shelf cloud. Notice the bright light blue sky at the top of the picture and the dark gray-black color of the sky below.
Courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library; OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)
A severe thunderstorm in the distance over Elko, NV.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Elko, NV
This thunderstorm, including a shelf cloud out in front, moved into Rockfish, NC on June 27, 2006.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Rayleigh/ Jewell Chambers
This thunderstorm shows a shelf cloud that passed over Little Chute, WI on June 13, 2004.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Green Bay, WI/ Brian Severa
Notice the lightning that is part of a thunderstorm that was seen in Menomonee Falls, WI on July 3, 2001.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Milwaukee/ Chris VenHaus
This photo of a thunderstorm shows large bursts of lightning in the cloud. It was seen in South Milwaukee, WI on August 1, 2002.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Milwaukee/ Brian Larmay
This thunderstorm happened on June 10, 2003 in Watertown, WI. The faded area underneath the cloud shows the rain that is falling from the storm.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Milwaukee/ Brian Larmay
In 2005, this large cumulonimbus cloud produced a thunderstorm that was seen over Lake Superior.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Marquette, MI/ Don Rolfson & Bryan Mroczka
This image shows the damage to a building from a thunderstorm that moved through Southern Osage County in Kansas on May 18, 2005.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Topeka, KS
A gas station canopy fell over after a thunderstorm with 60 mph winds came through Green Bay, WI on July 30, 2006.
Courtesy of National Weather Service Forecast Office of Green Bay

Thunderstorm

Images and Multimedia on Windows to the Universe

Last modified July 24, 2008 by Vanessa Pearce.

You might also be interested in:

Images & Multimedia

Here you will find links to all sorts of pictures, animations, videos, sounds, and interactive multimedia that are on Windows to the Universe Explore collections of images in the Image Galleries. Watch...more

Forked Lightning

Forked lightning occurs when a second lightning stroke doesn't follow the same path as the first lightning stroke. Thus, it appears forked....more

Stationary Fronts

A stationary front typically forms from either a cold or warm front that has stopped moving. This happens when two air masses are pushing against each other but neither is powerful enough to move the other....more

Warm Fronts

A warm front is where a warm air mass is pushing into a colder air mass. Warm fronts move more slowly than cold fronts because it is more difficult for the warm air to move against the cold, dense air....more

Cold Fronts

A cold front is where a cold air mass is pushing into a warmer air mass. Cold fronts can produce dramatic changes in the weather. They move fast, up to twice as fast as a warm front. Cold air is dense...more

Occluded Fronts

Sometimes a cold front follows right behind a warm front. A warm air mass pushes into a colder air mass (the warm front) and then another cold air mass pushes into the warm air mass (the cold front). Because...more

Clouds

Clouds can come in all sizes and shapes, and can form near the ground or high in the atmosphere. Clouds are groups of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the sky and are formed by different processes....more

How Hurricanes Form

A thunderstorm in the tropics can grow into a massive hurricane under certain conditions. Sometimes several tropical thunderstorms are able to organize, rotating around a central area of low pressure....more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA