Need some excitement? Forget your $500-million crackpot lottery dreams, Jim Cantore is getting all he needs from a thundersnow. The saying goes that winning the lottery is about as likely as getting struck by lightning. But apparently, catching lightning on camera during a snow storm is also just as rare. And Cantore got it six times, baby!
We'll let a confessed weather geek explain:
During the most intense snowstorms—including blizzards like the one that hit New England on Saturday night, as well as lake effect snow on the Great Lakes—the lift in the atmosphere can be so great that it will create thunderstorms. Convection is typically a warm-weather process (as it requires warm air lifting through colder air), but intense blizzards can have such strong dynamic processes that the storm can force the rapid lifting of air, creating intense snow bands accompanied by thunder and lightning.
Since it requires the right combination of intense atmospheric processes, thundersnow is exceedingly rare, and it's even more rare to catch on film.
Now, can you ramp up your excitement for your work to this level? You can, baby. You can. Gain some wonder and shred your lotto tickets.
[via The Vane]
