Thundersnow
Part of a series on |
Weather |
---|
Weather portal |
Thundersnow, also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thundersnow storm, is a
There are three main causes of thundersnow such as a normal snowstorm that sustains strong vertical mixing which allows for favorable conditions for lightning and thunder to occur. It can also occur from the lake effect or ocean effect thunderstorm which is produced by cold air passing over relatively warm water; this effect commonly produces snow squalls over the Great Lakes.
Occurrence
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2023) |
Americas
Within the United States, thundersnow is relatively rare but most common in "eastern Nevada and Utah, the central plains, and the Great Lake [sic] states".[3] Thundersnow also occurs in Nova Scotia and in the Northeastern United States, especially in New England and New York, sometimes several times per winter season.[citation needed] On December 30, 2019, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of Massachusetts for a thunderstorm cell that was producing "lightning, thundersnow, thundersleet, and thunderice".[4] A "really rare" thundersnow storm occurred near Vancouver, British Columbia on December 17–18, 2022.[5]
The South Region of Brazil registered episodes of thundersnow in 1984 and 2005, in the state of Santa Catarina, and in August 2011, in some municipalities of the highland region of Serra Gaúcha, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.[6]
Europe
The British Isles and other parts of northwestern Europe occasionally report thunder and lightning during sleet or (usually wet) snow showers during winter and spring. Scotland registered an episode of thundersnow in the early hours of 4 December 2020, the unusual noise causing alarm among local people.[7] The Met Office warned of thundersnow in Scotland, Wales and northern England in early January 2022.[8]
Western Europe has rare occurrences of thundersnow, as on 8 March 2010, when northeastern Catalonia, including Barcelona, experienced a heavy snowfall accompanied by lightning, with snow depths surpassing 30 centimetres (12 in) in low altitude areas.[9]
In Central Europe, a large-area (non-local) thundersnow occurred on 17 January 2022, when a strong synoptic-scale squall line passed north to south over whole central and eastern Poland, precipitating both granular snow and snowflakes, with discharge intensity exceeding 100 per minute.[10] Other recent occurrences were in Poland and the Czech Republic in January 2023, Germany in January 2021, and Norway and Netherlands as well as Austria in April 2021, with previous occurrences in Norway in January 2019[11] and January 2020.[12] Stockholm experienced thundersnow on 21 November 2022.[13][14]
Asia
Low-pressure events in the eastern
Thundersnow is also common around
]Formation
Thundersnow is caused by the same mechanisms as regular thunderstorms, but it is much more rare because cold dense air is less likely to rise.[15]
Lake effect precipitation
Lake effect thundersnow occurs after a cold front or shortwave aloft passes over a body of water. This steepens the thermal lapse rates between the lake temperature and the temperatures aloft. A difference in temperature of 25 °C (45 °F) or more between the lake temperature and the temperature at about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) (the 850 hPa level) usually marks the onset of thundersnow, if surface temperatures are expected to be below freezing. However several factors, including other geographical elements, affect the development of thundersnow.
The primary factor is convective depth. This is the vertical depth in the
The last component is the echo top or storm top temperature. This must be at least −30 °C (−22 °F). It is generally accepted that at this temperature there is no longer any super cooled water vapour present in a cloud, but just ice crystals suspended in the air. This allows for the interaction of the ice cloud and graupel pellets within the storm to generate a charge, resulting in lightning and thunder.[16]
Synoptic forcing
Synoptic snow storms tend to be large and complex, with many possible factors affecting the development of thundersnow. The best location in a storm to find thundersnow is typically in its
Upslope flow
Similar to the lake effect regime, thundersnow is usually witnessed in terrain in the cold sector of an extratropical cyclone when a shortwave aloft moves into the region. The shortwave will steepen the local lapse rates, allowing for a greater possibility of both heavy snow at elevations where it is near or below freezing, and occasionally thundersnow.[20]
Hazards
Thundersnow produces heavy snowfall rates in the range of 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) per hour. Snowfall of this intensity may
See also
References
- ^ Coulter, Dauna (February 24, 2011). "The Mysterious Rumble of Thundersnow". NASA Science. NASA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ^ CNN.com.
- from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ^ "Thundersnow, hail and lightning reported during ice storm; thunderstorm warning issued for parts of Mass". December 30, 2019. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ Silvestre, Irish Mae. "Vancouver sky lit up by really rare 'thunder snow'". Daily Hive. Archived from the original on January 3, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ^ "Estado registra episódio inédito de neve com trovoadas (Rio Grande do Sul registered an unprecedented episode of thundersnow)" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Correio do Povo. August 4, 2011. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- ^ "Disruption after 'thundersnow' hits Scotland". BBC News. December 4, 2020. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Rachel Hall (January 5, 2022). "UK weather: 'thundersnow' to fall from Thursday, warns Met Office". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "Strong squall line across Poland, winds up to 120 km/h". fanipogody.pl. January 17, 2022. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- Adressa. January 14, 2019. Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- Adressa. January 9, 2020. Archivedfrom the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ Kraftiga smällar över Stockholm – mitt i ovädret - Aftonbladet TV (in Swedish), retrieved November 21, 2022
- ^ Nyheter, S. V. T.; Lundahl, Marie (November 21, 2022). "Snöblixtar över Stockholm – "Åsksnö"". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved November 21, 2022.
- ^ Strong, Hannah (February 25, 2022). "What is Thundersnow". WDRB. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ the USA Today. Jack Williams. Warm water helps create Great Lakes snowstorms. Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 01-11-2006.
- ^ Patrick S. Market, Angela M. Oravetz, David Gaede, Evan Bookbinder, Rebecca Ebert, and Christopher Melick. Upper Air Constant Pressure Composites of Midwestern Thundersnow Events. Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 01-11-2006.
- ^ .
- ^ National Weather Service Office, St. Louis, Missouri. Thundersnow Proximity Soundings. Retrieved on 01-11-2006. Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ National Weather Service Office, Sacramento, California. Alexander Tardy. Western Region Technical Attachment No. 02-13: Thundersnow in the Sierra Nevada. Retrieved on 01-11-2006. Archived 2006-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Christian, Hugh J. & McCook, Melanie A. "A Lightning Primer – Characteristics of a Storm". NASA. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
External links
- What causes thundersnow?
- Research on Convective Snow from University of Missouri
- Thundersnow caught on live BBC TV broadcast – 1st Feb 2009 – Kent, United Kingdom