Weather Insider: Thunderstorm development in the deserts

There are a few main ingredients needed for thunderstorms to form. These ingredients are moisture, atmospheric instability, and lift. Moisture is often present in the deserts in the summer months thanks to the monsoon. Instability comes from a mix of the warm and moist air at the surface. Since warm air and moist air are both slightly less dense than cool, dry air, the air will naturally want to rise. Lastly is lift. This can happen naturally if a given parcel of air becomes hot and/or moist enough or can come from the mountains.

Since air cannot go through rock, air is forced up mountain faces. This often provides the necessary lift required for thunderstorms to develop. This explains why we often see more cumulus clouds and thunderstorms over the mountains compared to the valley floor.