cumulonimbus gets a lot of respect. These are the giant thunderstorm clouds that can produce lightning, hailstorms, and tornadoes. On color weather radar, cumulonimbus cells glow bright red, a warning that their tops have grown high into the atmosphere and severe weather is on its way. Violent updrafts within the storm, which can reach speeds of 100 miles per hour or more, keep it growing ever higher into the troposphere. If the monster cloud has enough energy, it will continue upward until reaching the tropopause or even break through to the stratosphere, where it will begin to flatten and
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