Research in to what is a thunderstorm, how it develops, and what it can do has evolved over the years as scientific knowledge has expanded. Because aviation interests were concerned with thunderstorms and their consequences, continued research has developed the modern version, Doppler radar . Both the need for aviation safety and the growing field of meteorology led to the establishment of a permanent center for study of severe weather. With the creation of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1964, meteorologists and other scientists in related fields were able to concentrate on investigating the atmosphere, especially severe weather. Elements known as sprites and jets have been observed during thunderstorms, primarily by high-altitude aircraft.
Sprites are very short duration optical flashes that extend into the ionosphere during storms.
Blue jets are fountains propagating from the top of thunderstorms at speeds of 60 miles per second. Research into these phenomena has expanded as NASA has included observations and experiments from the Space Shuttle. The state of the atmosphere is a vital part the space program. As knowledge about the atmosphere increased, NASA became more involved, and today the Marshall Space Flight Center conducts Lightning Studies, a multidimensional program that includes observing lightning around the globe from the Space Shuttle. Tornado research often begins with understanding severe thunderstorms.