A frigid storm system has dropped more than a foot of snow in some areas of Northern Arizona since late last night. It also brought with it an unusual weather phenomenon known as “thundersnow”.
KNAU meteorologist Lee born says “thundersnow” is a rare occurrence unique to the Southwest and Great Lake regions in particular.
“Typically in a snowstorm you don’t have cumulonimbus type clouds which are the type of clouds that produce lightning and thunder. What happened last night was the perfect set up, a very strong cold front, cold air wedging under the warm air mass that was already in place. You want strong vertical mixing in order to get lightning and thunder to form,” says Born.
“Thundersnow” is acoustically different than thunder produced during monsoon storms. Falling snow muffles the sound making it deeper and more resonant. Today’s storm should produce a few more flurries before tapering off by early tomorrow morning. Freezing daytime temperatures and subzero nighttime lows are expected for the next couple of days.
