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Super-cold thunderstorm

But would you be surprised to learn it is sometimes below even -100C?Indeed, scientists have just published research showing the top of one tropical storm cloud system in 2018 reached -111C. This is very likely a record low temperature.It's very cold, obviously; at high altitude it is well below freezing.

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Temperature record

But if the storm is very energetic, the upward movement of air can punch through the troposphere's ceiling, the tropopause, to keep on rising into the stratosphere, the next layer up in the atmosphere. In the 2018 event, the cloud top was at about 20.5km in altitude.

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Overshooting tops

But if the storm is very energetic, the upward movement of air can punch through the troposphere's ceiling, the tropopause, to keep on rising into the stratosphere, the next layer up in the atmosphere. In the 2018 event, the cloud top was at about 20.5km in altitude.

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They describe the contributing factors.

In part, this came from some very warm ocean water in the region, but there was help too from a phenomenon meteorologists refer to as the Madden-Julian Oscillation. The MJO is an eastwards-moving zone of winds that can accentuate wet and dry weather.

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The storm we report 

There have been as many such events across the globe in the past three years as there were in the 13 years before that. That's relevant as, in general, the colder the storm, the more likely it is to produce hazardous weather, such as lightning and flooding.

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The meteorological

There have been as many such events across the globe in the past three years as there were in the 13 years before that. That's relevant as, in general, the colder the storm, the more likely it is to produce hazardous weather, such as lightning and flooding.

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The Northern Lights

Aurora Borealis - are one of nature's greatest shows, and our BBC Weather Watchers have sent some great shots recently. There could be the opportunity for more of the same over the coming years as activity on the sun,

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Climate Check

The Met Office is warning of a 'gloomy milestone' in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, one of the main drivers of global warming. Levels are now 50% higher than pre-industrial levels. But there will still be spells of cold weather, as we saw in the US this winter.