Thunderstorms form when warm, moist air rises and meets cool, dry air. This creates instability in the atmosphere. Changes in wind direction and speed with height cause horizontal spinning that can tilt vertically, forming a tornado. Tornadoes are violently rotating columns of air in contact with the ground and clouds. The safest places during a tornado are the basement, center of an interior room, or a storm shelter. Thunderstorms can have harmful effects like electrocution and destruction, but also provide beneficial rainfall for crops and clear old vegetation.