Abstract
An investigation of thundersnow and deep snow accumulations
Department of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Department of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Department of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Department of Soil, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
Cloud and Aerosol Sciences Laboratory, University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, Missouri, USA
A comparison of 30 years of hourly surface weather observations (1960–1991) from first-order stations and 24-hour snowfall data from climate network stations over the upper Midwestern United States reveals an indirect association between the relatively rare occurrence of thundersnow (<1 event yr−1 in this dataset) and the accumulation of significant 24-hour snowfall (>15 cm) in 19 of 22 cases identified. Although no direct relationship is found between the location of thundersnow and the deepest 24-hour snow totals, significant snow accumulations frequently occurred in proximity (<1° latitude) to thundersnow events. The presence of thundersnow tended to indicate a parent extratropical cyclone capable of producing significant snowfall totals; should thundersnow be anticipated, the operational meteorologist can have much greater confidence in forecasting deeper snow totals.
Received 26 September 2006; accepted 21 November 2006; published 22 December 2006.
Citation: (2006), An investigation of thundersnow and deep snow accumulations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L24812, doi:10.1029/2006GL028214.
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