SciJinks: What causes a thunderstorm?

Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

• Teaching Tips
  The printable poster can be used for students and instructors to refer back to after watching the video. The resource would be a useful visual for a unit on weather.
• About the Science
  All thunderstorms need the same ingredients: moisture, unstable air and lift. Moisture usually comes from oceans. Unstable air forms when warm, moist air is near the ground and cold, dry air is above. Lift comes from differences in air density. It pushes unstable air upward, creating a tall thunderstorm cloud. Note that there is a misconception that evaporation only happens over the ocean. It also happens over other bodies of water and saturated land. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  Simple, clear graphics create an animation that is easy to understand, and repetitive enough for students to grasp the concept.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  Animation is easy to use. Lesson includes a poster download in two size options.