A storm that pummeled dozens of Midwest states with snow during the weekend also brought another weather phenomena, at least to Missouri: Thunder and lightning.
The phenomenon, known as thundersnow , occurs when a thunderstorm produces snow instead of rain. The weather event is so rare that Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore can barely contain his excitement when he’s recorded in viral videos witnessing the legendary phenomenon.
But residents of St. Louis, Missouri were able to observe thundersnow Sunday amid a major winter storm that buried Midwestern states under several feet of snow during the weekend. As of Monday morning, tens of millions were under winter storm advisories and hundreds of thousand were without power as the storm began rolling into the Mid-Atlantic region, stretching from southern Illinois to Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Here’s what to know about thundersnow: