Which weather phenomenon is always associated with a thunderstorm?

Lightning is a fundamental and inevitable component of thunderstorms. Thunderstorms develop from a combination of warm, moist air rising and atmospheric instability, which creates ideal conditions for electric charge separation within the storm clouds. As different parts of the clouds develop positive and negative charges, a strong electric field is generated, leading to the discharge we observe as lightning. This process occurs during virtually all thunderstorms, making lightning the one phenomenon that is invariably present whenever thunderstorms occur.

While heavy rain, hail, and strong winds can be associated with thunderstorms, they are not guaranteed. Some thunderstorms may produce minimal precipitation or have conditions that do not create severe wind or hail. In contrast, lightning is consistently generated in thunderstorms, reinforcing its status as the weather phenomenon always linked with these storms.