Spring thunderstorms can spawn torrential rain, damaging hail even tornadoes. Spring presents a clash of different types of weather systems, said Dan Bartholf, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Charleston. You still have cold air to the north and warm air to the south. It s primarily during springtime when you get those big drastic changes. While thunderstorm development is extremely complex, it results primarily because of the difference between cold and warm air masses.
Cold air is much denser than warm air and, consequently, is heavier.
A tree blown down lies on top of a parked car in 1998 in Huntington. Cold air provides a source of lift, Bartholf said. It lifts warm, moist air into the atmosphere and creates instability. Because spring weather can be so volatile, the National Weather Service in West Virginia is sponsoring a weather-awareness campaign that continues through March 31. Kentucky and Ohio have sponsored similar campaigns.