KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Springtime in Kansas City is known for thunderstorms, but before storm clouds can form and even think about becoming a thunderstorm, there needs to be one main ingredient: water vapor.
A single severe thunderstorm can use up to one billion pounds of water vapor!
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In the Plains, 90 percent of the water vapor comes from the Gulf of Mexico via evaporation. That moisture eventually moves north.
What about the dew point? That's the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to achieve a relative humidity (RH) of 100 percent.
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What about at night?
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Watch Jeff's full explanation in the video player below:
KSHB 41's Jeff Penner explains main ingredient needed for thunderstorms: water vapor
