My son Matt has lived in Japan, near Tokyo, for about ten years. He has told me that one of the things that he misses is the thunder when it storms in Japan. Of course, here in the midwest as most of the U.S. we expect to hear thunder with the storm. So, the question is: Why is there an absence of thunder when it storms in Japan? I appreciate the enlightenment that any of you can provide. Thanks, JimBob.
He must just have missed them…
http://www.easterwood.org/hmmn/archives/000097.html
On this page…
http://www.zone81.com/arch_sections/weather
They have a symbol for thunderstorm. So I would guess that means they do occur.
If he lived in parts of California he would say the same thing. There are not all that many thunderstorms in the Los Angeles basin, for example, although they do occur. The central valley is also not noted for thunderstorms, although again, they to occur.
In a lot of the state the rain cusomarily comes from stratus clouds and just falls without a lot of fuss.
Thunder in any form, whether accompanying a storm or just a rumble in summer clouds, is exceedingly rare here on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. On the odd occasion when it does occur, everybody looks around with wide eyes, as if the sky was about to fall.
And, just for the record, here in the UK we only get thunderstorms relatively rarely (2 or 3 times a year in the South West I’d say) compared to the storms that gather near daily, in my admittedly limited experience, in Florida or Alabama.
I guess we don’t get the humidity, etc required.