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Can it thunder when it's snowing?
10 Answers
- 2 months ago
Whether or not you see the lightening or here the thunder, it always does when it rains and it always does when it snows.
- TQLv 72 months ago
It can thunder when it's snowing provided the moist air over-running the cold dome at the surface ascends high enough to its reach level of free convection or as a result of lake effect.
Key ingredients for thundersnow ...
- Moisture resides in layers above 1km (3281').
- Instability results primarily from very cold air aloft.
- The trigger comes from jets of high speed air at or above 5.5km ( ~18,000') or by unstable air being forced to rise over a dome of cold air at the surface.
- Precipitation comes in the form of heavy snow falling at the rate of ~70" per hour (assuming 10:1 SLR) . Of course, the storm is moving … so all 70″ does not fall over one location. A single point can get up to 4″ as the storm passes.
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FALSE: Thunder and lightning are actually common in the wintertime, especially in the United States.
FALSE: ... blizzards are capable of both thunder and lightning
Source(s): Meteorologist - RitaLv 62 months ago
ANSWER: Thunder and lightning are actually common in the wintertime, especially in the United States. Strong winter storms and blizzards are capable of both thunder and lightning. ... Thunder can occur while it's snowing, sleeting, or even during freezing rain. Thundersnow usually requires extremely strong vertical motion.
Source(s): https://iqos-heets.ae/ - ?Lv 72 months ago
Yes, definitely it can thunder and lightning when it is snowing. It's amazing! You don't expect. thunder when is is so quiet. Even if it is sleeting or there is freezing rain falling or it is doing both there is some sound.
One of the Weather Channel meteorologists gets really hyped by thunder snow. Jim Cantori.
https://youtu.be/PdRWGMyeSYY...
I've experienced it in central OK over 40 years. For someone who was born and Grew up in New Orleans AND the Oklahoma panhandle in the summer, thunder snow is exciting and somewhat creepy at the same time.
- oldprofLv 72 months ago
Yes it can. That's because it can lightning during snow storms. They are rarer than during rain storms, but not that rare. The snow storms have to be the rain equivalent of squalls which mean the clouds forming the snow are towering cumulus or similar. In Naval Aviation we'd call the towering cumulus "thunder bumpers" because those were the lightning producers and the consequent thunder of course.
BTW the snow thunder is rarer because the towering cumulus is rarer in the winter cold. Typically snow comes from stratus clouds which don't usually produce lightning.