Thundersnow NYC: When Snow Is Not Enough, There Is Thundersnow

New Yorkers were reveling in their millionth snowstorm Wednesday night when they experienced something unexpected -- lighting and thunder during a snow storm.

Being both savvy and neurotic, New Yorkers naturally fled to Google and Twitter and found their answer -- Thundersnow. ABC News says that "so-called thundersnows are rare events that feature thunder, lightning and heavy snowfall. Despite their drama -- but perhaps because of their infrequency -- very little is known about them."

Mysterious, rare, beautiful, yes -- it all has something to do with convection and tropospheres and whatnot -- but it has happened before (as Gothamist pointed out, one person filmed it during the blizzard of 2010).

In 1996 a weatherman was reporting a snowstorm in Worchester, Massachussets when thunder and lighting struck. He was so amazed he could hardly contain himself:

Even stranger is that Stephen Colbert had a segment on Thundersnow posted on January 26th -- of 2006. Exactly five years ago to the day. Is there something Thundersnowy about January 26's? Or mere coincidence? Probably. But hopefully the hyperbole surrounding the awesome-sounding name will be no different this year. Jim:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Thundersnow
www.colbertnation.com
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Comments

[prodemlib]

12:25 AM on 01/27/2011

WoooHooo! I have experience "Thundersnow" 2x in my life...very, very, very cool

[Zenith1959]

12:23 AM on 01/27/2011

I live in the northwest where lightning is rare, but I did see a single lightning bolt and thunder during a snow storm once. In western Washington, some winters it might snow only a couple of times and not last very long.

[prodemlib]

12:28 AM on 01/27/2011

I'm in Western Washington, too. Issaquah. And you're right. Lightning is rare here. We had thundersnow here in November. And about 25 years ago, there was a BIG (for us) thundersnow storm. Very cool.

Hope we have at least ONE good thunderstorm this year!

[M Cubed]

12:00 AM on 01/27/2011

Really? I was stuck out in the car during tonight's storm in the DC area, and I thought I saw lightening, but I assumed it was from the arcing of power lines when the snow pulled them down. Did not hear thunder, but I was in a car at the time. Saw quite a bit of it, though.