New Yorkers were reveling in their millionth snowstorm Wednesday night when they experienced something unexpected -- lighting and thunder during a snow storm.
Being both savvy and neurotic, New Yorkers naturally fled to Google and Twitter and found their answer -- Thundersnow. ABC News says that "so-called thundersnows are rare events that feature thunder, lightning and heavy snowfall. Despite their drama -- but perhaps because of their infrequency -- very little is known about them."
Mysterious, rare, beautiful, yes -- it all has something to do with convection and tropospheres and whatnot -- but it has happened before (as Gothamist pointed out, one person filmed it during the blizzard of 2010).
In 1996 a weatherman was reporting a snowstorm in Worchester, Massachussets when thunder and lighting struck. He was so amazed he could hardly contain himself:
Even stranger is that Stephen Colbert had a segment on Thundersnow posted on January 26th -- of 2006. Exactly five years ago to the day. Is there something Thundersnowy about January 26's? Or mere coincidence? Probably. But hopefully the hyperbole surrounding the awesome-sounding name will be no different this year. Jim: