Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises rapidly and cools to form a cumulonimbus cloud, releasing latent heat that fuels further rising motion. A lifting mechanism (like surface heating, a front, or wind shear) and an unstable atmosphere are also needed. Key stages and ingredients:

• Ingredients
  • Moisture at the surface: warm, humid air provides the fuel for cloud and rain.
  • Instability: the near-surface air must be warmer (and/or the air aloft colder) so the rising parcel remains buoyant.
  • Lifting mechanism: something to start the air rising, such as daytime heating, air converging at a boundary, or a weather front.
• Development process
  • Cumulus stage: warm, moist air rises, expands and cools, water vapor condenses, and latent heat release warms the updraft.
  • Mature stage: updrafts and downdrafts coexist; heavy rain, lightning, thunder, and sometimes hail or strong winds occur.
  • Dissipating stage: the storm weakens as the supply of warm, moist air is cut off and downdrafts dominate.
• Outputs and impacts
  • Lightning and thunder result from charge separation within the storm.
  • Weather effects can include heavy rain, gusty winds, hail, and, in some cases, tornadoes.

If you’d like, I can tailor this to a specific region or explain how meteorologists predict thunderstorms (CAPEs, lifting mechanisms, weather fronts) with simple examples.