äikesest

Äikesest is the Estonian word for thunderstorm. A thunderstorm is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, thunder. Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by strong winds, heavy rain, and sometimes hail or tornadoes.

The fundamental cause of thunderstorms is atmospheric instability, often caused by heating of the Earth's surface by the sun. This causes warm, moist air to rise rapidly, forming towering cumulonimbus clouds. As the air rises, it cools and condenses, forming water droplets and ice crystals. These particles can collide, creating an electrical charge separation within the cloud. When this charge difference becomes large enough, a lightning discharge occurs.

Lightning is a sudden, brief electrical discharge that heats the air around it to extremely high temperatures, causing it to expand rapidly and create a shockwave. This shockwave is what we hear as thunder. The sound travels much slower than the light of the lightning, which is why we see lightning before we hear thunder.

Thunderstorms can range in intensity from mild events with light rain to severe storms that can cause significant damage. Factors contributing to thunderstorm severity include the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, the degree of instability, and the presence of wind shear, which can help organize thunderstorms into more powerful systems like supercells. In Estonia, thunderstorms are most common during the warmer months of summer.