Hot summer weather brings more rain and thunderstorms to Ohio. Here's why

Believe it or not, July is one of the wettest months in Ohio.

Summer can be the wettest season, depending on the amount of rainfall during the spring, according to WOUB. Hot temperatures can bring humidity, showers, rain and even thunderstorms.

So, how is this weather formed? Let’s find out. 

Why does it rain in the summer?

Clouds aren't as fluffy as we think. They actually contain millions of water droplets, ice particles, and lighter ice crystals, according to HowStuffWorks. When warm air rises into these cool clouds, these ice particles turn into water droplets, creating the precipitation we see in the summer.

It’s common for the summer to have precipitation. Why? Because it's warmer. The heat during the summer increases the moisture capacity in the atmosphere. With high humidity and rising temperatures, showers, rain and thunderstorms are formed. 

Why do we see a lot of thunderstorms during the summer? 

If you learned the water cycle in school, you might be familiar with condensation and evaporation—which occurs when water droplets collide with additional moisture that condenses as it rises.

When this happens, charge separation emerges as these collisions strike electrons off the rising moisture. This gives the air a negative charge and creates an unstable air mass in the lower part of the cloud. 

Later, the moisture that lost an electron carries a positive charge to the top of the cloud. As this warm air rises, it starts to freeze as it meets cold air in parts of the upper cloud. The frozen parts of the cloud are negatively charged, while the warm parts are positively charged. This charge separation brings an electric field, creating lightning. Contractions in the air create the soundwaves we know as thunder.

With high moisture and unstable air, thunderstorms will form and thrive, according to the National Weather Service. 

Summer showers vs. summer rain

If a meteorologist says it might shower, it doesn’t mean you should cancel your outdoor plans. But if they say it’ll rain, that’s a different story.

Rain is water that has condensed from atmospheric vapor, and can last for a long time in one large geographic location, according to Spectrum News. While a shower can be in any form of weather, it is short-lived.