Dear Tom,
We see lightning during some rain storms, why not during snow storms?
Julie Willis
Dear Julie,
Lightning does sometimes occur during snowstorms and there’s even a colloquial name for the phenomenon: thundersnow. It’s a rare event, perhaps occurring in Chicago only once or twice in a given 10-year period. However, it does occur, and lightning injuries have been recorded in the Chicago area during snowstorms.
The opaqueness of snowflakes and their sound-muffling fluffiness greatly limit the distance that lightning can be seen or thunder heard during thundersnow events.
Typically during snowstorms, relatively stable air rides gently over colder air; it cools and its moisture condenses into snow. But on rare occasions the moist air is unstable and will produce bona fide thunderstorms.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
