Life cycle of a thunderstorm

Thunderstorms may not be considered living things, yet they do have a life cycle of sorts, marked by three main stages. The most simple and straight forward example of this cycle is demonstrated during pop-up storms, also called air mass thunderstorms. These most often form on hot, humid summer days without the help of larger features such as cold fronts or organized low pressure systems.

Cloud development is a precursor to any storm, commonly taking place in the afternoon hours as daytime heating from the sun warms air parcels near the surface. The warmest parcels of air  rise into the atmosphere, cooling and condensing into puffy cumulus clouds as they do so. This is called the cumulus stage, the earliest phase of thunderstorm growth and development. 

Depending on the environment, many cumulus clouds will not go on to become thunderstorms. When conditions are right, some cumulus clouds are able to rapidly grow into cumulonimbus clouds, with a strong updraft and downdraft present. These clouds are usually white and puffy near the top, with dark ominous bases where rain and sometimes hail fall to the ground. This is considered the mature stage, when gusty to damaging winds and frequent lightning often accompany heavy precipitation.

Eventually, the updraft of a mature thunderstorm will start to weaken, allowing the downdraft to become more dominant. When rain-cooled air within a storm's downdraft takes over, it cuts-off the feed of warm unstable air that ultimately fuels it. At this point, a storm has reached the dissipating stage, marking the end of its life cycle. 

Most storms go through all three stages in a matter of 30 to 60 minutes. Oftentimes, larger clusters of thunderstorm activity can seemingly maintain themselves for hours, with multiple cells at various stages of development simultaneously.