Severe convective storms and associated phenomena in Hungary

Convective activity dominates the weather of Hungary in the summer. Especially during the first part of the summer, the frequency of severe thunderstorms grows and associated phenomena such as wind storms, hail, sometimes even tornadoes cause serious damage. In this paper, an overview of the severe thunderstorm situation in the Carpathian Basin is presented with a focus on the most frequent phenomena: squall lines. To understand the physical background of these kinds of severe thunderstorms, the terminology of convective components is introduced. Making use of case studies, the roles of convective components are shown for different types of thunderstorm systems. Case studies also show that most of the tornado events are associated with organized thunderstorm systems, especially prefrontal squall lines.