Severe thunderstorms are a way of the atmosphere saying, "I've Had Enough!"Then things go kaboom, and sometimes people have to pay the price.More scientifically speaking, severe thunderstorms are a product of greatturmoil in the atmosphere, which is created by instability. The atmospherebecomes unstable when cooling occurs aloft while the surface air heats up. Thisgenerates huge columns of rising air, which can turn into towering thunderstormclouds. The severity of a thunderstorm is a product of its size, and also howmuch the jet stream interacts with it. In most cases, a strongis what is responsible for destructive winds and tornadoes. The cold air aloftand strong updrafts within the storm are what allows hail to form.
Saturday afternoon into Saturday night, the threat of damaging thunderstormswill be greatest through the South from Louisiana to Georgia.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist John Kocet.
