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Topic: Thundersnow

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	WHAT CAUSES THUNDERSNOW?
		Thundersnow is a thunderstorm than has snow reaching the surface instead of rain.
		The CAPE or instability in the troposphere is a function of the tropospheric temperature profile and the initial temperature and dewpoint of a parcel of air.
		A severe thundersnow occurs when the snow is accompanied with hail that is equal or greater than 3/4" in diameter or when the wind is equal or greater than 50 knots.
	www.theweatherprediction.com /habyhints/334 (403 words)

	Thundersnow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Thundersnow is a particularly rare meteorological phenomenon that includes the typical behavior of a thunderstorm, but with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain.
		Thundersnow, while rare anywhere, is more common with lake effect snow in the Great Lakes area of the United States and Canada, the midwestern U.S., the Great Salt Lake, and has also been reported around the Sea of Japan and even around Mount Everest during expeditions.
		Thundersnow was reported in metro Atlanta during the Great Blizzard of 1993, and in greater New York (and other areas) during the Blizzard of 2006.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Thundersnow (753 words)

	For Strong Winds: A Study in Opposites: Thundersnow
		Even where they are most common, thundersnow occurs no more than a few times per year, usually when winter storms with substantial warm and humid air sectors spawn thunderstorms along their fronts, or when air crosses a large lake or rises over a mountain range.
		The colder weather in which thundersnow occur may also contribute to the relative rarity of the event as fewer observers are out of doors.
		Thundersnows are also found in mountainous regions where the forced upslope flow (strong dynamic lifting) of moist air produces thunderstorms at higher elevations.
	www.islandnet.com /~see/weather/storm/thundersnow.htm (1130 words)

	Straight Dope Staff Report: Why don't snowstorms produce lightning? (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		This type of thundersnow is reported fairly often in the central Great Plains (Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Missouri) as well as parts of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.
		Thundersnow is uncommon--between 1961 and 1990 it was officially recorded only around 375 times, with Utah holding the record for the most events (36).
		Thundersnow occurs most frequently in late winter and early spring due to the presence of marked temperature gradients and strong winds in the upper atmosphere.
	www.straightdope.com /mailbag/mthundersnow.html (1042 words)

	USATODAY.com - Scientist takes closer look at 'thundersnow'
		Thundersnow was reported over the city, where the harshest part of the storm hit.
		Thundersnow is more likely to happen around the Great Lakes because of instability caused by the "lake effect," Market said.
		However, the study he is concentrating more on non-lake effect thundersnow that occurs in a loose arc across the central U.S. States where thundersnow is most frequently reported are Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and into northern Texas, Market said.
	www.usatoday.com /weather/news/2003-11-12-thundersnow_x.htm (508 words)

	P4.6 Upper Air Constant-Pressure Composites of Midwestern Thundersnow Events (2004 - 20WAF16NW) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Thundersnow events from 1961 through 1990 were examined.
		However, the composite thundersnow event occurring northwest of a cyclone center (N=33) tends to occur with deeper, better-developed, negatively-tilted cyclones as a result of upright convection.
		Conversely, the composite thundersnow occurring to the northeast of a cyclone (N=19) tends to be associated with weaker, less-developed, neutrally-tilted systems and more likely the result of a slantwise parcel displacement.
	ams.confex.com /ams/84Annual/techprogram/paper_72662.htm (214 words)

	P1.4 The Thundersnow Event of February 11, 2003 (2005 - 4Student) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		A rare convective event known as a thundersnow storm tracked across eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and central Illinois on the evening of February 11th, 2003.
		The uncharacteristic severe nature of this winter storm was not anticipated by forecasters since atmospheric conditions leading to the development of thundersnow storms have not been well documented.
		The goal of this paper is to distinguish key parameters such as those mentioned above that are involved with the evolution of severe thundersnow storms to aid in the dissemination of warnings by forecasters in winter storm situations.
	ams.confex.com /ams/Annual2005/techprogram/paper_88542.htm (214 words)

	CNN.com - Scientists to study flashy 'thundersnow' - Nov. 12, 2003
		Part of his five-year study, which began in July, will try to determine whether thundersnow is rare or just doesn't get reported much.
		Thundersnow is more likely to happen around the Great Lakes because of instability caused by the "lake effect," Market said.
		"Thundersnow oftentimes is very small-scale phenomena which can lead to wide variations in snow amounts in very small area," Koch said.
	www.cnn.com /2003/TECH/science/11/12/thundersnow.study.ap/index.html (516 words)

	P4.2 Proximity Sounding Composites of Midwestern Thundersnow Events (2004 - 20WAF16NW) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Four of the events occurred at the exact time of a sounding but were not at the exact location the sounding occurred; the location of thundersnow was within 90 nmi (169 km) of the sounding station.
		The remaining four cases occurred within 90 nmi of the sounding station and the thundersnow report occurred in a window of zero to three hours after the rawinsonde was released.
		Cases of thundersnow northeast of a cyclone center (N=4) are potentially neutral, but with profiles rich in moisture and again forcing for ascent.
	ams.confex.com /ams/84Annual/techprogram/paper_72671.htm (352 words)

	The Daily Texan (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Missouri scientist Patrick Market said for the past four years he's been looking into a phenomenon known as thundersnow, an apparently rare event that some researchers believe foreshadows an intense snowstorm with heavy accumulation.
		Part of his five-year study will try to determine whether thundersnow is rare or just doesn't get reported much.
		States where thundersnow is most frequently reported are Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and into northern Texas, Market said.
	www.dailytexanonline.com /media/paper410/news/2003/11/13/University/Grant.To.Fund.Research.Of.Thundersnow.Storms-556571.shtml (385 words)

	Research on Convective Snows - Project (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Thundersnow events (snow attended by lightning and thunder) will be examined with a multiscale approach using standard meteorological platforms (e.g., rawinsonde network, National Lightning Detection Network), observations in the field (integrated sounding system, snow crystal collection), and with numerical model simulations.
		Ensuing years will be spent in the field, in pursuit of thundersnow events so that we may sample them directly and attempt to determine some fundamental characteristics of the cloud that engenders them.
		Undergraduates at the University of Missouri-Columbia will be introduced to the project in courses taught by the PI (especially their synoptic sequence), with daily forecasting of thundersnow incorporated into the class as a lab exercise.
	weather.missouri.edu /ROCS/project.html (343 words)

	Thundersnow phenomenon could forecast heavy storm \| LJWorld.com (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		Thundersnow was reported over the city, and that's where the harshest part of the storm hit.
		Greg Koch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Mo., said the ability to forecast thundersnow would be a great advantage to meteorologists because they would have an idea of where the biggest accumulations might hit.
		Once his team can determine frequency of thundersnow, the next step is to look at the factors that caused it, such as updrafts similar to those found in summer storms.
	www.ljworld.com /section/severeweather/story/151719 (705 words)

	ABC News: Inside the Mystery of 'Thundersnow'
		Thundersnow storms are more common in the Great Lakes region and in the mountains, but remain rare even there.
		Thundersnows may have seemed mystical in earlier centuries, but now scientists understand a mix of warm air and moisture are required to brew them.
		As a storm cloud gathers up warmer air (such as air over a lake or ocean surface), the air rises in the cloud's structure and creates a churning of air masses within the cloud.
	abcnews.go.com /Technology/story?id=99629 (754 words)

	Schultz: Lake-Effect Snowstorms With and Without Lightning
		Thundersnow in China, however, was viewed as a precursor to military advance by the enemy, with reports as early as 1099 A.D. (Wang and Chu 1982).
		The lack of scientific inquiry into thundersnow is probably a result of a number of factors.
		First, thundersnow in the contiguous United States is relatively uncommon: 1.3% of cool-season (October-May) thunder reports from surface observing stations are associated with snow, and 0.07% of snow reports are associated with thunder (Curran and Pearson 1971).
	www.cimms.ou.edu /~schultz/light/mss.html (3714 words)

	Badger Blues » Blog Archive » Thundersnow! (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-09)
		According to a study out of the University of Missouri, thundersnow occurs during 0.07% of all snowstorms.
		It’s rare to find enough of a temperature differential in the winter to fuel a powerful convection cycle, and it almost always occurs in non-Madison microclimates that reside on the windward side of mountains or experience lake-effect snow.
		If snowstorms like this one account for roughly 0.03% of all snowstorms, then I easily made the over-under in witnessing thundersnow, since I haven’t experienced anywhere close to 1500 snowstorms in my life.
	www.badgerblues.org /2006/02/16/thundersnow (266 words)

	wjz.com - What Exactly Is Thundersnow?
		Thundersnow is a weather phenomenon that doesn't happen all that often.
		Well thundersnow does just the same thing but in the form of snow, also causing snowfall rates and accumulations to vary greatly across an area.
		"A unique difference between thundersnow and a thunderstorm, is that the snow itself suppresses some of the sound from the thunder - which is why many of you may have seen the lightning and the intense snow but did not hear the thunder."
	wjz.com /topstories/local_story_043214438.html (431 words)

	A Study in Opposites: Thundersnow
		Even where they are most common, thundersnow occurs no more than a few times per year, usually when winter storms with substantial warm and humid air sectors spawn thunderstorms along their fronts, or when air crosses a large lake or rises over a mountain range.
		Thundersnows have also been reported around the Sea of Japan and the North Sea.
		The colder weather in which thundersnow occur may also contribute to the relative rarity of the event as fewer observers are out of doors.
	www.suite101.com /article.cfm/13646/111679 (508 words)

	Yarn Harlot: Thundersnow
		Thundersnow is a phenomenon we have on occasion here in Utah and it is a starteling experience every time.
		We've had thundersnow here, on occasion - nothing nearly like the thunderstorms we get in the summer, but I think it's strangely, creepily comforting for there to be something that I completely associate with heat and wild rain happen in the middle of cold, cold snow.
		I've never seen thundersnow but it reminds me of the Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin builds a snow-Frankenstein and needs lightning to make it come alive and then he and Hobbes realize that there wouldn't be lightning until spring, ergo they would have a Frankenpuddle.
	www.yarnharlot.ca /blog/archives/2007/02/22/thundersnow.html (16738 words)

	Rare Snow Phenomenon
		People who see flashes of lightning and hear crashes of thunder during a snowstorm this winter would be wise to take notice, said a University of Missouri-Columbia scientist.
		Market and his team received a five-year, $460,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to track and study thundersnow.
		From October through April, Market and his team are offering two-day thundersnow forecasts for the central United States on the project’s website.
	atmizzou.missouri.edu /dec03/Thundersnow.htm (338 words)

	THOUGH RARE, ‘THUNDERSNOW’ CAN POSE A THREAT, SAYS MU ATMOSPHERIC SCIENTIST
		COLUMBIA, Mo. — People who see flashes of lightning and hear crashes of thunder during a snowstorm this winter would be wise to take notice, said a University of Missouri-Columbia scientist.
		“Though they are a relatively rare occurrence, ‘thundersnow’ events are capable of producing record-setting snowfalls that can bury cities for days,” said Patrick Market, MU assistant professor of atmospheric science.
		Thundersnow events most often occur in a loose arc across the central United States that includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and extends into northern Texas.
	www.missouri.edu /~news/releases/thundersnow.html (325 words)

	[No title]
		Maximum snowfall amounts of 14 to 20 cm (6 to 9 in) were observed with these thunderstorms in the towns of Pollock Pines and Burney.
		Since thundersnow also occurred over the lower elevations of the southern Cascades (Burney Basin), where upslope flow is often less of a factor in precipitation enhancement, it is likely that the orographic effect was not the main contributor to thundersnow.
		In this case, the significant snowfall amounts were attributed to post-frontal thundersnow which has not been observed to be a common phenomenon in the Sierra Nevada.
	www.wrh.noaa.gov /wrh/02TAs/0213/index.html (1807 words)

	the guy by the door … » 2005 » December » 09
		While it is easy to see how this can occur over a lake on a hot summer’s day, extreme cold air at altitude can provide adequate temperature contrast in winter.
		Thundersnow is more likely to be associated with large snowstorms than small.
		The question of early closing of the libraries may well be moot.
	blogs.law.harvard.edu /fensterm/2005/12/09 (178 words)

	Thundersnow - Bad Astronomy and Universe Today Forum
		If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
		This morning's TV news spoke about thundersnow occurring overnight in Buffalo, New York---have not heard this term before.
		We had a cold front bring fairly widespread thundersnow to England a couple of years ago.
	www.bautforum.com /showthread.php?p=844827 (474 words)

	SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Science/Health -- University of Missouri scientist takes closer look at 'thundersnow'
		A Union-Tribune telephone hotline, in which financial planners provide answers to readers' questions about personal finance, will be offered from 6 p.m.
		Callers should be brief, write down their question in advance and have pencil and paper handy to take notes.
		KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sometimes in the middle of a Midwestern snowstorm, thunder growls and lightning sends dull flashes among the clouds.
	www.signonsandiego.com /news/science/20031112-0002-thundersnowstudy.html (542 words)

	CNN.com - Scientists to study flashy 'thundersnow' - Nov. 12, 2003
		Part of his five-year study, which began in July, will try to determine whether thundersnow is rare or just doesn't get reported much.
		A thundersnow storm January 17, 1994, in Louisville, Kentucky, dropped about 2 feet of snow, Market said.
		The center of the storm -- a narrow band that contained thunder and lightning -- went directly over Louisville, where the biggest accumulation was recorded.
	edition.cnn.com /2003/TECH/science/11/12/thundersnow.study.ap (517 words)

	No Replacement For Displacement: Thundersnow!
		There is a pretty big snowstorm hitting us here today, and we just got hit by thundersnow.
		Thundersnow is a pretty rare occurrence, and it only happens during really bad snowstorms.
		It was a loud, throaty rumble that lasted for about 15 seconds.
	www.noreplacementfordisplacement.com /archives/001065.html (82 words)

	GovTeen Forums - The Mystery of Thundersnow Snow acompanied by thunder and lighting.
		Aug-02-2004 04:39 PM Re: The Mystery of Thundersnow Snow acompanied by thunder and lighting.
		We don't get as much snow on the northern (Canada) side of the lakes as they do on the southern side (the US) because the arctic current runs south over the lakes, picking up all the moisture, and dumping it on Michigan and New York however it was probably about 9 inches in an hour.
		Aug-09-2004 08:35 PM Re: The Mystery of Thundersnow Snow acompanied by thunder and lighting.
	forums.govteen.com /printthread.php?t=85562 (474 words)

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