This past week a storm ravaged the state of Texas including heavy rain of 2 inches per hour and several tornadoes which damaged more than 1,100 homes. New 3D satellite images show the storm clouds were more than 8 miles (12.8 km) tall.
http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/06/this-weeks-texas-storm-towered-8-miles-high/?hpt=us_c2