novaceleste Posted April 12, 2006 #1 Share Posted April 12, 2006 (edited) I was wondering if someone can help. I'm from deep south Texas and my husband and I keep arguing about whether it lightenings during snowstorms. I have searched the web and found nothing. Could anyone help??? Edited April 12, 2006 by novaceleste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eden grange Posted April 12, 2006 #2 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I was wondering if someone can help. I'm from deep south Texas and my husband and I keep arguing about whether it lightenings during thunderstorms. I have searched the web and found nothing. Could anyone help??? Lightning comes before thunder light travels faster then sound . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 12, 2006 Author #3 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I was wondering if someone can help. I'm from deep south Texas and my husband and I keep arguing about whether it lightenings during thunderstorms. I have searched the web and found nothing. Could anyone help??? REDO!! REDO!! I meant to say snowstorm! I'm such a moron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eden grange Posted April 12, 2006 #4 Share Posted April 12, 2006 REDO!! REDO!! I meant to say snowstorm! I'm such a moron! That doesn't make u stupid, I mess up all the time I cant really ever remember seeing lightning in snow but i'm young (24 ) I`ll ask some more of my "seasoned" friends if they can ever recall seeing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 12, 2006 #5 Share Posted April 12, 2006 You can have a thunder storm with snow. Whilst London isn't really that cold in the winter I have seen this happen a few times, the last time being about a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyGTS Posted April 12, 2006 #6 Share Posted April 12, 2006 i thought for lightning to strike the air has to be pretty warm but i may be wrong let me check my encyclopedia of science Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortal Norway Posted April 12, 2006 #7 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I have never seen a lightning during a snowstorm, but I think that the changes that you see a lightning under a snowstorm are the same as when it`s raining, after all both snow and fluent water is water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pax Unum Posted April 12, 2006 #8 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Snowstorms do produce thunder and lightning — only less frequently than summertime thunderstorms. Also, snowflakes — with a larger surface than raindrops — scatter sound and light more efficiently. In addition, visibility during snowstorms is often very low, making the flashes harder to see. The flashes, or lightning, that you see in the sky are giant atmospheric sparks caused by a sudden release of energy between separated electrical charges in the clouds. Local variations of wind speed and direction — or shear — transport charges to different areas within a cloud, until the potential grows strong enough for a discharge. In winter, strong localized shears are uncommon and charge separation is weak. Lightning will still occur at the frontal zones, however, where cold air meets warmer air. In the Great Lakes region, cold air from Canada meets the warmer air over the lakes and causes precipitation. "You'll get thunder snowstorms right along the south shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie," says Rick Watling, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. And although lightning is less common in winter, it is even more deadly than at any other time of the year, Watling says. That's because wintertime strikes tend to carry more current then their summertime counterparts. FYI: Snow, Thunder, and Lightning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 12, 2006 #9 Share Posted April 12, 2006 It is more to do with electrical build up with in the clouds. The best conditions for this when it is hot but it isn't exclusively. It is not something that I have seen often (mabe only 2 or 3 times in my 40 years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 12, 2006 Author #10 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Wow Pax! That is intresting, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pax Unum Posted April 12, 2006 #11 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Wow Pax! That is intresting, thanks! you are quite welcome... glad to be of service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK0001 Posted April 12, 2006 #12 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Happens probably 2 or 3 times a year here in Michigan. Not unusual at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silver Thong Posted April 12, 2006 #13 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I have lived in Calgary Canada most of my life and I have to say I have never seen lightning during a snowstorm ever. I have seen hail storms produce lighning. I have seen snow in the middle of summer befor and I have seen it as warm as 25 degree's C in december,I have seen a couple of tornado's to. Living so close to the Rockies we get some wierd weather,we get what they call Chinooks, warm air comming over the mountains from the pacific that can produce some very strange weather,but no I can't recall ever seeing lightning in a snowstorm ever,not saying it doesn't happen though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlitkate Posted April 12, 2006 #14 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I live in Maine and for most of the year it snows here and I've never remembered seeing lightning while it was snowy. I'll ask my spouse and his mother and if they say then have then I"ll let ya know-if not then you know it don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mklsgl Posted April 12, 2006 #15 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Happens on the US East Coast almost every winter if we get a particularly nasty "Nor'easter." Thunder, lightning, and storming snow. Just happened during the 30" in Central Park blizzard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Alchemy Posted April 12, 2006 #16 Share Posted April 12, 2006 (edited) Happens probably 2 or 3 times a year here in Michigan. Not unusual at all. Yup, that's what I was going to say... Though, not in the coldest months. Usually at the tail end of winter when it begins to warm up. If during the day it was warmer, then the temp drops at night and a storm is coming, then the cold and warm air mix, we'll have snow and lightening and thunder (more thunder) Rut ro! Speaking of storms.....YIKES! It's begining to thunder and lightening here now. Awww, my poor pup is hiding under my desk...lol Edited April 12, 2006 by alchemistic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 12, 2006 Author #17 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Hey, send some of that rain to Texas! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Alchemy Posted April 12, 2006 #18 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Hey, send some of that rain to Texas! lol I sure wish I could! We live on a lake and I know it'll be darn near Aug till it's dry in our front yard. It's a tad too soggy here in MI...I want OUT! Feast of famine, that's the way it is from state to state Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 12, 2006 Author #19 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I think mother nature is playing a joke on us today. We need rain badly, you can see the dark clouds and even smell the rain, but only a 10% chance of rain. Hopefully the weatherman was wrong, we could sure use a good down pour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaknelson Posted April 13, 2006 #20 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I was wondering if someone can help. I'm from deep south Texas and my husband and I keep arguing about whether it lightenings during snowstorms. I have searched the web and found nothing. Could anyone help??? Answer: No. Maybe in blizzards, but never have i heard such a thing, and im in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 14, 2006 Author #21 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Well, I appreciate everybody's posts, but it seems that everyone is torn down the middle. Can anyone give me proof that it can happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 14, 2006 #22 Share Posted April 14, 2006 From the WTOL-TV Toledo, OH website: Did I Hear Thunder with Snow? On Tuesday evening, the snow was falling hard and I thought I heard a rumble of thunder. Is that possible? Actually thunder occured with the burst of snow. This is a somewhat rare occurence, but the strongest of cold fronts have the potential to produce thunder. The process is almost the same as a summertime thunderstorm. Relatively warm air is found near the surface compared to cold air at high altitudes. This leads to strong vertical motions that push air upward and downward. The movement can lead to thunder and even a rare bolt of lightning. When this happens you can bet there will be a very heavy burst of snow that may lead to extremely low visibilities. Thunderstorms that form in winter are weak and short-lived. Source: WTOL.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 14, 2006 Author #23 Share Posted April 14, 2006 From the WTOL-TV Toledo, OH website: Did I Hear Thunder with Snow? On Tuesday evening, the snow was falling hard and I thought I heard a rumble of thunder. Is that possible? Actually thunder occured with the burst of snow. This is a somewhat rare occurence, but the strongest of cold fronts have the potential to produce thunder. The process is almost the same as a summertime thunderstorm. Relatively warm air is found near the surface compared to cold air at high altitudes. This leads to strong vertical motions that push air upward and downward. The movement can lead to thunder and even a rare bolt of lightning. When this happens you can bet there will be a very heavy burst of snow that may lead to extremely low visibilities. Thunderstorms that form in winter are weak and short-lived. Source: WTOL.com Thank you!!! You're my hero! I think you just helped me win the bet with my husband!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted April 14, 2006 #24 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Thank you!!! You're my hero! I think you just helped me win the bet with my husband!! I've never been anyone's hero before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novaceleste Posted April 14, 2006 Author #25 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Oh, by the way, intresting article! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts