Last week’s spectacular thunderstorm was another exciting weather event in a season that has seen fires, floods, landslides and volcanic eruptions around Alaska. In Tok, a forest fire and flood occurred at the same time.
Thunderstorms begin when warm, moist air rises into colder, drier air aloft – creating an unstable air mass. This volatile cloud produces electrical charges, causing lightning. The rapid heating and expansion of air around lightning brings the sound we hear as thunder. Thunder takes…