Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Thundersnow

The Approaching Storm

LotH thinks I’m slightly, or maybe more than slightly, daft. Going out at night in snowstorms being regarded as rather eccentric but being daft does lead me into odd situations.
I was out in the snow on one of my nocturnal rambles, checking on the foxes, owls and the other creatures that shy away in the day, when I witnessed an apparently rare phenomenon – Thundersnow.

Great flashes of lightning lit up the whole sky followed by rolls of very close sounding thunder. It was dramatic as the flashes reflecting off the fallen snow made the night vanish for a second.
Getting up to the top of the rise out of the village, I could see the source of the storm. Looking out to sea, the forks split the sky. The storm was obviously out over the water but close enough to the shore to provide a spectacular display. Then the snow came down again, icy and stinging on the face. Time to head home.

Checking up on the Net, it seems that this was most likely caused by the bitterly cold air coming in across the (relatively) warmer sea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thundersnow

Are we in for a long winter?