78% of disasters recorded in the United States each year are weather-related. Still, when asked what type of incidents they expect to respond to over the next year, Emergency Management Personnel (EMP) and public safety officials underestimate the number of weather-related disasters that will occur. This misconception results in EMP and public safety officials being undertrained to respond to weather-related disasters. In order to more effectively and cost efficiently keep the public safe, EMP and public safety officials need to be more knowledgeable about weather phenomenon and the impact severe weather can have on their communities. In the United States, there are a few weather threats that are nearly universally experienced across the country. These are thunderstorms, tornadoes, lightning, and hailstorms.
The most common severe weather threats seen in the United States and worldwide are thunderstorms. A thunderstorm is a rain shower which features thunder. Since thunder is generated from lightning, all thunderstorms feature lightning, whether frequently visible or not. There are approximately 100,000 thunderstorms each year in the U.S. alone. While this indicates that thunderstorms are quite common, specific atmospheric conditions must be present for a thunderstorm to form. Three basic ingredients are required for the formation of a thunderstorm: