Winter Storm Could Bring Unusual Weather Event In New York

If you haven't heard, the first major snowstorm of 2022 will be coming through Western New York tonight and with it could be something unusual.

Get our free mobile app

On top of the possible 18 inches of snow, sleet, and rain that is coming with this latest snowstorm, one other thing could be happening that usually doesn't happen during a snowstorm.

THUNDER-SNOW

Yep, this snowstorm could bring the rare and unusual thunder-snow to Western New York. So what is thunder-snow exactly?

Glad you asked. It is a thunderstorm that brings snow instead of rain. So why is that unusual? Well, most times thunderstorms happen only in warm temperatures. According to the USA Today, the thunderstorm is caused by convection:

Thunder and lightning are much more common in warm-season storms because of convection, the upward motion of air that helps produce thunderstorms. It's fairly rare to have convection within a winter storm

Thunder-snow is so rare, that the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore freaks out with excitement when he gets a chance to experience it.

Now the bad news with Thunder-snow. It really only happens when a lot of snow is expected during a snowstorm. Most meteorologists are calling for anywhere between 2 inches to a possible 24 inches of snow depending on where you live in Western New York.

The biggest amount of snow looks like it will hit downtown Buffalo and slightly north and south of the city.

This could cause really bad driving conditions on Thursday morning and through the afternoon. If possible stay off the roads or use extreme caution if you do have to get out on the roads.