how common is it to see lightning and hear thunder during a winter storm?

Question

at 5:55 am i was outside shoveling the snow thats been building up all day. i seen a bright flash then a LOUD thunder that went on for about 20 seconds. how common is this and how does it happen?

Answer 1

While it is not frequent, it is not as uncommon as most people think. I have worked 4 sets of cold weather thunderstorms so far this season. The last being during the ice storm we had last weekend.

Ever since the development of the lightning detection systems in the middle 1980's we have seen that lightning is a lot more common during the cold seasons than was believed before those systems started recording data.

While it may be very cold at the surface, the thunderstorms are forming and being fueled by a warm, moist layer that is above the cold air. We use similar instability forecast techniques that we use to forecast the spring and summer thunderstorms to forecast the cold season thunderstorms and forecasters are improving on forecasting those events.

You likely will see more forecasts that call for a rain/snow mixture or icing conditions with isolated thunderstorms in the future.

Answer 2

Michael is only partly right. It is true that thunderstorms are less frequent in the winter than summer but the 'cold air' has nothing to do with it. What creates a thunderstorm is:
1) A great difference of air temperature between the surface and the top of the troposphere.
2) A lifting of the air. It can be heat from the sun or the orographic effect of a mountain.
3) Humidity, since the adiabatic cooling of saturated air is less than dry air and this feeds the rising of the air in the convection.

Even in the winter, if a cold front is passing, bringing cooler air upward, and the wind blows moist air from the sea to a rising mountain range, thunderstorm may happen.

Answer 3

It's "rare" for most places. However, thundersnow is very common in regions that are Lake Effect snow favored because those types of snow develop just as thunderstorms would in the summer (warm air over cold air). Also, it does sometimes occur in strong, dynamic storm systems, because the snow can convect when eating all of that energy up (basically, it's way of burping). However, it's pretty rare when it does happen because the air is usually too cold or too dry.

Answer 4

very rare. i've only ever seen it once or twice in my life.

"Snowstorms are cold and cold air doesn't rise and create big thunderstorm clouds as readily as warm air does. That's why hot summer days are the predominant breeding days for thunder and lightning. But if there is enough energy in the atmosphere, and a lot of moisture, thunderstorm clouds can form and drop snow instead of rain when the temperatures are just below freezing."

Answer 5

certainly you do have thunder in the time of snow typhoon sometimes. it is declared as thundersnow in case you like to google it. in basic terms a uncommon occurance regardless of the undeniable fact that. climate is desirable. final 3 hundred and sixty 5 days it became into 20 ranges right here and raining, windy, thundering and lightening. I went exterior interior the rain to envision the thermometer just to make confident. i'm nonetheless attempting to come to a decision the way it could rain at 20 ranges

Answer 6

i think it is actually quite rare according to weather sites i have visited before!when i tryed finding out about this phenomenon i found that apparently its quite common in "lakesnow".i think thats what they called it(lakesnow).this happens near the great lakes of north-east america in winter.if you google "thundersnow" you will find out how and what causes it to happen.