CLEVELAND — Across the world, there are roughly 16 million thunderstorms each year, and at any given moment, approximately 2,000 thunderstorms are happening. There are about 100,000 thunderstorms each year in the U.S. alone, but only around 10% of these reach severe levels.
So what does it mean to be a "severe Thunderstorm?"
A Severe Thunderstorm has three criteria that make it severe and a threat to life and property. Now, a thunderstorm only needs one of these to be classified as severe, but in many cases, storms include two or all three criteria.
A thunderstorm is classified as “severe” when it contains hail at one inch or greater (size of a quarter), winds gusting more than 58 mph or higher (50+ knots), or any tornado.
Lightning is not a criteria for whether a storm is severe or not.
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