Editing Thunderstorm (section)

==Energy==
[[File:How thunderstorms launch particle beams into space 300dpi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|How thunderstorms launch particle beams into space]]
{{See also|Sprite (lightning)|Upper-atmospheric lightning|St. Elmo's fire}}

If the quantity of water that is condensed in and subsequently precipitated from a cloud is known, then the total energy of a thunderstorm can be calculated. In a typical thunderstorm, approximately 5×10<sup>8</sup> kg of water vapor are lifted, and the amount of energy released when this condenses is 10<sup>15</sup> [[joules]]. This is on the same order of magnitude of energy released within a tropical cyclone, and more energy than that released during [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|the atomic bomb blast at Hiroshima, Japan in 1945]].<ref name="condensationenergy"/>{{failed verification|date=April 2024|reason=The source is a list of power values, none of which pertain to thunderstorm moisture or energy.}}

The [[Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor]] results show that [[gamma ray]]s and [[antimatter]] particles ([[positron]]s) can be generated in powerful thunderstorms.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/fermi-thunderstorms.html|title=Fermi Catches Antimatter-Hurling Storms|first=Rob|last=Garner|date=26 June 2015|work=nasa.gov|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref> It is suggested that the antimatter positrons are formed in [[terrestrial gamma-ray flash]]es (TGF). TGFs are brief bursts occurring inside thunderstorms and associated with lightning. The streams of positrons and electrons collide higher in the atmosphere to generate more gamma rays.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ouellette|first=Jennifer|title=Fermi Spots Antimatter in Thunderstorms|url=http://news.discovery.com/space/fermi-spots-antimatter-in-thunderstorms.html|access-date=16 January 2011|newspaper=Discovery News|date=13 January 2011|archive-date=12 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112083132/http://news.discovery.com/space/fermi-spots-antimatter-in-thunderstorms.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> About 500 TGFs may occur every day worldwide, but mostly go undetected.