Yale professor Ron Smith continues his course The Atmosphere, the Ocean and Environmental Change with a lecture on convective storms, driven by the release of latent heat during condensation of water vapor. He distinguishes three types: airmass thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms, and hurricanes, explaining how squall lines and tornadoes draw energy from warm, humid air over land while hurricanes draw energy from evaporation off warm ocean surfaces, which is why they weaken over land. Smith also covers the Coriolis force's role in cyclonic structure, why hurricanes cannot form at or cross the equator, and works through the sign reversal of the Coriolis force across hemispheres. The lecture runs through chapters on airmass thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes, recorded in Fall 2011 as part of Yale's Open Courses series.