Thursday, December 08, 2005

Okay, stupid weather question of the day from your local Floridian...

Why don't you have lightning during snow storms? I've never heard of a thunder-snow-storm. Is it because they don't happen, or because it's really long and tedious to say? Does electricity just not jump around as well in the cold? Forgive me; I'm just used to electricity and precipitation going together. All this quietness during storms is weirding me out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It can thunder during snow storms but it is a very rare occurrance--I grew up in Michigan and didn't see lightning during a snowstorm until I was 26, and it happened in Boston, during a nor'easterner.
I've neveer seen it in the Midwest.

Anonymous said...

"Updrafts are a hallmark of thunderstorms--the strong upward motion of the air encourages the interactions between water droplets and ice crystals that can lead to lightning. In winter, cold surface air temperatures and reduced sunlight mean there's less surface heating, less convection, and thus fewer opportunities for thunderstorms." --http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mthundersnow.html

Becca said...

Fascinating. Thanks.