FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATM)Meteorology and Weather ServicesEasy
During which stage of a thunderstorm's life cycle is the cell dominated entirely by updrafts, with the cloud composed of continuously rising cumulus towers and no precipitation reaching the surface?
- ASquall line stage
- BCumulus stage
- CDissipating stage
- DMature stage
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Cumulus stage
The cumulus stage is characterized by continuous updrafts throughout the cell, growing cloud towers, and no precipitation reaching the ground yet, since droplets and ice crystals are still too small to fall.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. A squall line is a line of thunderstorms, not a stage of an individual cell's life cycle.
- C. The dissipating stage is dominated by downdrafts and diminishing precipitation.
- D. The mature stage features both updrafts and downdrafts along with heavy precipitation.
Thunderstorm Cumulus Stage
The first stage of a thunderstorm's life cycle, marked by continuous updrafts and cloud growth with no surface precipitation.
- Only updrafts present, no downdrafts yet
- Precipitation begins to fall marking transition to mature stage
- Can last 10-15 minutes
Memory trick: Cumulus = 'Climbing' — the storm is just growing up, no rain yet.