Where Thunderstorm Activity is the Highest

If you are afraid of thunderstorms then you should settle in the Northern German city of Kiel, as it has the lowest average of thunderstorm activity in the world. But, if you enjoy the booming, bright magnificence of storms then your home would be in Garmish-Partenkirchen, the highest city in Bavaria. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) evaluated data on occurrences of thunderstorms and came to these conclusions.

While these storms tend to rattle some nerves, they also burden people's wallets. Factors like strong winds, heavy rain, large hailstones, and even lightening damage can cause considerable damage to homes, cars, and agriculture. Garmish-Partenkirchen must have to deal with their insurance companies quite a lot.

Thunderstorm activity is highest in the Prealps.
Credit: Michael Kunz, KIT

David Piper of KIT's Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) says that thunderstorm activity relies heavily on the region. In the Bavarian Prealps, up to 15 thunderstorms occur on a daily basis with other high activities found between the Neckar River and Swabian Jura, in the Ore Mountains and Bavarian Forest. Piper goes on to state that the lowest activites happen along the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas. These storms tend to develop in the afternoon or early evening when temperatures are highest.

Thunderstorm activity is determined by three factors: distance from the sea, local landscape, and the amount of humidity close to the ground. The sea influences storms due to water cooling which stabilizes the bottom layers of air in the summer. Then the mountains force the air to ascend and facilitate the development of storms. 

Original Article by David Piper and Michael Kunz found here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171012123919.htm