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Did you catch yesterday's thundersnow on video? Send it to us

Relatively rare phenomenon more common with lake effect snow
110117_thundersnow
Greater Sudbury had some weird weather last night — lightning and thunder in the middle of a snowstorm. Screen shot.

Greater Sudbury had some weird weather last night — lightning and thunder in the middle of a snowstorm.

This phenomenon is known as thundersnow, and it's a kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation. While relatively rare, it's more common with lake-effect snow, especially in the Great Lakes area.

One unique aspect of thundersnow is that the snowfall acts as an acoustic suppressor of the thunder. The thunder from a typical thunderstorm can be heard many miles away, while the thunder from thundersnow can usually only be heard within a two to three mile radius from the lightning.

It's not the first time lightning has lit up Sudbury in the midst of winter. Check out this video Northern Life captured back in 2012.

Did you happen to catch any of yesterday's thundersnow on video? Email it to [email protected].

Sudburian Daniel DesLauriers uploaded this video of last night's thundersnow on Facebook.


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