MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Winter thunder does not predict snow in the following 10 days, according to a WMBF News analysis of two decades of weather data across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee regions.
WMBF meteorologist Matt Bullock analyzed the last 10 significant snow events in the area over the past 20 years and found that winter thunder preceded snow within 10 days only twice — a 20% correlation rate.
“Thunderstorms and snow really don’t correlate,” Bullock said. “Thunderstorms need warm unstable air while snow needs cold air at multiple levels of the atmosphere.”
Weather conditions work against folklore
The atmospheric requirements for thunderstorms and snow are fundamentally different, making the folklore scientifically unlikely.
While it remains possible to have thunderstorms during a winter storm or even thunder snow, Bullock said that does not support the claim that thunder guarantees snow within 10 days.
What actually brings snow to the Carolinas
Snow in the Carolinas requires specific meteorological conditions, according to Bullock…