thunder snow

I've never seen nor heard of such a thing a Thunder sleet or Thunder snow but that's what we had this weekend. There is a an actual such thing. I looked it up for my own edification and yours! Here's what I learned:

From Wikipedia:
Thundersnow, also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thunder snowstorm, is an unusual kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. It typically falls in regions of strong upward motion within the cold sector of an extratropical cyclone. Thermodynamically, it is not different from any other type of thunderstorms but the top of the cumulonimbus is usually quite low. As well as snow,graupel or hail falls.

From Channel 4 in Oklahoma City:

Oklahoma has seen quite a weather phenomenon in the last 24 hours. Residents have seen rain, thunder sleet, snow, ice and even a swarm of earthquakes.The U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed five earthquakes within the last 24 hours.

• Magnitude 2.8 southwest of Guthrie
• Magnitude 2.6 northeast of Stillwater
• Magnitude 2.9 southwest of Cherokee
• Magnitude 3.2 south of McCord
• Magnitude 2.8 south of McCord

So far, no damage has been reported.

from channel 6: in TULSA

A mix of winter weather conditions was felt in much of Oklahoma Sunday as March roared in like a lion. Oklahomans e

xperienced all types of freezing precipitation during the day including thundersleet and thundersnow, thanks to the strength of the storm system moving through.
"One of the more interesting aspects of this winter weather event is the precipitation type and the occurrence of thunder with the sleet, snow, freezing rain, and even hail that we have been experiencing from time to time through the day Sunday," WARN Team Meteorologist Dick Faurot said.Faurot said the temperature and moisture content of air layers varied greatly, causing the thunder to boom as sleet and snow fell. A shallow layer that was well below freezing and saturated with moisture was topped by a layer of drier air that was about 40 degrees Farenheit.So the rain froze as it fell through the Arctic air closer to the surface, but there was enough energy and lift to create thunderstorms up above the shallow layer of Arctic air.That translated into "thundersleet" and "thundersnow.""It is this vertical distribution of temperature and moisture that is most difficult to forecast as a difference of just a few hundred feet in the elevation of the freezing line can make a huge difference regarding whether we get sleet, freezing rain, snow, or some combination," Faurot said in his weather blog.The sleet and freezing rain transitioned to snow overnight as the system made its way east.

The dangerously cold temperatures will take a few days to warm up, but spring-like weather is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday.


When I first heard the term I thought they were talking about  something to do with the basketball team, the OKC Thunder. I really think the team's promotion people should take note! The weather may even be rooting for them.