WHY DON´T SNOW STORMS PRODUCE THUNDERS AND LIGHTNINGS???

There is lightning in SOME snowstorms, only the strongest one.

Almost every summer there is a storm with lightning and Thunder. But even in the fiercest snow storms there is a sparkle in the air. Thunderstorms with snow are not impossible (although in all United States only are on average six a year), but winter air is not the most suitable for conditions requiring the lightning to form, says meteorologist Robin Tanamachi of the University of Oklahoma.

During  the summer, the troposphere is full of hot and humid air. Above, the air is cold and is full of ice crystals. When hot air rises, carrying water vapor molecules rubbing ice crystals and the friction creates an electric field in the cloud. Ice crystals acquire a slight positive charge and the updraft takes them to the top of the cloud, so that at the bottom is a net negative charge.

Lightning is caused by particles (liquid drops & ice) hitting against each other, which causes charge differences in the cloud. To get particles to hit, you need some upward motion of air which carries some particles up while others fall down.

Thundersnow: Rara tormenta de nieve con truenos en Kansas, EEUU (21/2/2013) CNN

PAULA MIGUEL GÓMEZ

               2B E.S.O