SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/drone-thunderstorm-mature-stage-rain

What signals that a thunderstorm cell has reached its mature stage?

Rain starting to fall from the cloud base means a downdraft has formed.

  1. Rain beginning to fall from the cloud base ✔
  2. A smooth, flat cloud top
  3. Updrafts only, with no downdrafts

Why: Falling rain drags air down with it, creating a downdraft next to the updraft. That is the mature stage, when all thunderstorm hazards are at their worst.

Huh, didn't know that: A thunderstorm cell goes through three stages: cumulus, mature and dissipating.

The dad joke
Why did the storm cloud get promoted? It finally reached maturity.
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Sources

  1. FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22), Ch. 3b https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

Test yourself in the game

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That's stuff everyone should know.