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Name: Ralph
Status: Other
Age: 30s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
What is the scientific name for lighning and thunder during a snowstorm?


Replies:
Dear Ralph-

I don't believe there is any scientific name for lightning and thunder during a snowstorm. That does happen occasionally in the wintertime, and those events usually produce brief bursts of very heavy snow. These storms are usually caused by a strong surge of warm moist air flowing over a dome of cold air at the surface. Thunderstorms may develop, but temperatures are such that the precipitation remains all snow as it falls to the ground.

Wendell Bechtold, Meteorologist
Forecaster, National Weather Service
Weather Forecast Office, St. Louis, MO


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