How come I never see Thunder or Lightning Storms in the Winter?

Answer 1

Well like all the others you need warm air to rise to create that warming effect. but on rare occations there is what is called Thundersnow which I have experiance a few times with major snow storms. There aint as much thunder as in regular thunderstorms but it still can be heard.

Answer 2

Could be that you just did not notice at the times they occurred (most people stay indoors during snowstorms, and the thunder evidently is not heard from quite as far away because of the snowflakes), or could be that one indeed never occurred where you were. I've seen this many times - last time during January:

http://www.joseph-bartlo.net/notes/012406.htm

but it is unusual if not rare.

The main reason as others stated is that the lower atmosphere is much more stable during winter than summer. If there was no sunshine, the ground would radiate heat away and cold air build from the ground up rather quickly. The only things preventing that are sunshine and vertical air motion - which makes the lapse rate tend toward dry adiabatic in the lower atmosphere. During the summer, there is much more sunshine and vertical air motions via convection.

Though that occurs to some extent during winter, ascending air tends to be forced by weather systems - steady ascent typical ahead of warm fronts and more vigorous ascent with cold fronts. Sometimes the latter - as in the case mentioned above - is sufficient to form thunderstrom cells. They can occur a few other areas in cyclones, and occur perhaps most often in lake-effect snows - the lower atmosphere being very unstable for those.

Another factor may be that charge separation (+ & -) may not be as efficient in clouds which are predominately ice crystals rather than ones which are predominately water droplets.

Answer 3

1. Thunderstorms are not caused by the collision of cold fronts with warm fronts...

2. During very intense winter storms - as sometimes track up the Eastern Seaboard of the US, lighting and thunder during heavy snow is not rare at all.

3. Regular thunderstorms happen far less often during winter months outside the tropics for two reasons. First the sun is too low in the sky to cause sufficient surface heating to trigger significant convection. Second, the southward movement of colder air usually prevents really moist air from penetrating very far inland. Thunderstorms require a good amount of water vapor, which powers them through latent heating.

Answer 4

For a good thunderstorm to generate you need the surface layer to be warm compared to the cool air aloft to create an unstable atmosphere, because when purturbed, the air at the surface will rise and continue to rise. But in winter, air at the surface is cold so you rarely have the right ingredients for an unstable atmosphere. That's not to say it doesn't happen (thundersnow!) but it's very rare.

Answer 5

Because there is usually no warm fronts to clash with the cold fronts to create storms.

Answer 6

yeah i would have to say that is because of the heat, or lack of..
an unstable climate is the cause of many thunderstorms
warm air meeting up with cold air, im sure there are other factors. but this much i do know

Answer 7

Thunderstorms are caused by convection; hot air rising. So they're much more common in hot places than cold.

Answer 8

Tornados (regularly occurring ones) arent as devistating as all and sundry makes it look. I stay in tn and that they continually say "A twister watch has been issued for..." yet, little or no injury, if something, is done. So do no longer hassle approximately it to plenty, yet stay alert.

Answer 9

The air is not warm enough or cold air,fronts, dont meet.

Answer 10

a thunderstorm is caused when a warm front collides with a cold front.