What is a thunderstorm called the moment before lightning strikes? Sometimes forecasters or ATC will say moderate rain (or extreme precipitation) as a tip-off, but they can’t call it a thunderstorm until lightning strikes. ***Source***: https://www.cfinotebook.net/notebook/weather-and-atmosphere/thunderstorms, [[The Finer Points]] [live weather brief stream at 27:10](https://youtu.be/TqgjU9f0TYg?t=1630) ***Related To***: [[Tiny Aerodrome Forecast]]