JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WXIN) — Several Hoosiers reported listening to thunder and seeing lightning whereas snow was falling earlier this week throughout a winter storm. The National Weather Service confirmed the phenomenon in Johnson and Brown counties, although it was reported elsewhere.
The NWS described the incidence as “something unusual,” with lightning sensors selecting up thundersnow within the space.
We usually affiliate thunder and lightning with thunderstorms accompanied by rain. Under sure circumstances, nonetheless, snow can truly accompany a thunderstorm.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), thundersnow can happen when there is sturdy instability mixed with plentiful moisture above the Earth’s floor — comparable to a heat entrance.
NOAA mentioned the circumstances for thundersnow are much like what occurs throughout a typical thunderstorm. It’s rarer for this to occur with snow, nonetheless, as a result of temperatures are usually colder when snow falls, each at greater and decrease factors of the ambiance.
“However, in some winter storms, shallow layers of warm air are lifted and continue to rise on their own – increasing snowfall and causing enough electric charge separation for lightning to occur,” the company mentioned.
The outcome: lightning and thunder accompanied by snow. NOAA additionally famous that thundersnow is usually related to elevated snowfall quantities.
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