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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Thundersnow: what causes it? | Thundersnow: what causes it? |
| (8 days later) | |
| Age: Timeless. | Age: Timeless. |
| Appearance(s): Manchester, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Glasgow; perhaps even coming to your town soon. | Appearance(s): Manchester, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Glasgow; perhaps even coming to your town soon. |
| On tour, are they? Who? | On tour, are they? Who? |
| This band, Thundersnow. Any good? It's not a band, it's a weather phenomenon that has been occurring recently across Britain. | This band, Thundersnow. Any good? It's not a band, it's a weather phenomenon that has been occurring recently across Britain. |
| What is it? It's thunder that happens during a snowstorm, hence "thundersnow". | What is it? It's thunder that happens during a snowstorm, hence "thundersnow". |
| Wouldn't it be more accurate to call it "snowthunder"? There's also lightning, and sometimes hail, and sometimes graupel. | Wouldn't it be more accurate to call it "snowthunder"? There's also lightning, and sometimes hail, and sometimes graupel. |
| Graupel? What's graupel? A sort of frozen pellet, formed when snow flakes are impregnated with super-cooled water droplets under particular atmospheric conditions, and sometimes referred to as soft hail. | Graupel? What's graupel? A sort of frozen pellet, formed when snow flakes are impregnated with super-cooled water droplets under particular atmospheric conditions, and sometimes referred to as soft hail. |
| I don't mind learning something new every day, but I draw the line at learning two things. Let's stick with thundersnow – what causes it? In this case it's cold air passing over a warm sea, a circumstance akin to the "lake-effect" blizzards that brew up over the American north-east. | I don't mind learning something new every day, but I draw the line at learning two things. Let's stick with thundersnow – what causes it? In this case it's cold air passing over a warm sea, a circumstance akin to the "lake-effect" blizzards that brew up over the American north-east. |
| So it's quite common? Not at all. Elevated convection – moist air rising into the troposphere to produce thunderstorms – rarely happens at temperatures that would support snowfall. There are on average just 6.3 recorded thundersnow events a year across the whole of the US. It's rarer still in the UK. | So it's quite common? Not at all. Elevated convection – moist air rising into the troposphere to produce thunderstorms – rarely happens at temperatures that would support snowfall. There are on average just 6.3 recorded thundersnow events a year across the whole of the US. It's rarer still in the UK. |
| That would explain why I've never heard of it. Or heard it – the snow tends to muffle the sound of the thunder, so it's really only audible within a two- to three-mile radius. | That would explain why I've never heard of it. Or heard it – the snow tends to muffle the sound of the thunder, so it's really only audible within a two- to three-mile radius. |
| What else do you get with thundersnow? Typically, high winds and rapid accumulation – between two and four inches an hour, or more. | What else do you get with thundersnow? Typically, high winds and rapid accumulation – between two and four inches an hour, or more. |
| How long must I wait before I get a chance to witness this freaky phenomenon? You might get lucky again today, but it's probably a once in a lifetime thing. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. | How long must I wait before I get a chance to witness this freaky phenomenon? You might get lucky again today, but it's probably a once in a lifetime thing. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. |
| Or, failing that, Sheffield. Be nice. My mum's from Sheffield. | Or, failing that, Sheffield. Be nice. My mum's from Sheffield. |
| Do say: "OMG I just saw #thundersnow in Glasgow!!! It was AWESOME." | Do say: "OMG I just saw #thundersnow in Glasgow!!! It was AWESOME." |
| Don't say: "I saw #thundersnow supporting Deacon Blue in Glasgow in 89. They were rubbish." | Don't say: "I saw #thundersnow supporting Deacon Blue in Glasgow in 89. They were rubbish." |
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