Lifecycle of a
Non-Severe Airmass Thunderstorm
•Airmass thunderstorms tend to form far from
frontal boundaries.
•They go through three
stages: cumulus, mature, and dissipation.
•Cumulus stage: updraft;
clouds compose of small liquid cloud droplets.
•Mature stage: reach
tropopause; form anvil; produce downdraft and cold pool (due to
evaporation of precipitation)
•Dissipation stage: downdraft dominates updraft;
produce a cool air outflow.
•The outflow produces a
gust front, which lift warm air ahead and form shell or roll
clouds.