“Thundersnow” on Franklin’s Birthday is a Reminder that Hazardous Weather can Strike without Warning!

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported lightning striking from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest during a widespread winter storm that recently hit the U.S. and parts of Canada on January 17, 2013.  The date happened to be Benjamin Franklin’s 306^th birthday, who ironically, happens to be the inventor of the lightning rod.

“Thundersnow” is a rare weather phenomenon that features the unusual combination of thunder, lightning and snow.  According to the NWS, thundersnow is so rare that it only occurs in less than one percent of observed snowstorms.

So what causes this weather phenomenon?  The NWS explains that thundersnow occurs when lightning forms after an electric charge separation process in updrafts and downdrafts created inside a convective system.  Enhanced air instability, a quick temperature change from surface to cloud and a charge separation process can trigger lightning and the ensuing thundersnow.

Lightning occurring during thundersnow has been known to zap trees, homes, buildings and traffic lights; although wide-spread power outages during these storms are a more common scenario.  Restoration and repair of power lines in the winter can be especially tricky when heavy snows impact travel and road accessibility.  While lightning is commonly an underrated weather threat, it’s even more so during winter storms when thunderstorm conditions can be harder to predict. The average lightning bolt can carry 100 million volts of electrical power and it’s virtually impossible to predict when and where lightning will strike.  Lightning can strike miles ahead of a parent thunderstorm and several minutes after a storm leaves a specific area; which is why the NWS has dubbed lightning as “the first thunderstorm hazard to arrive and the last to leave.”

Even though lightning is a frequently experienced weather peril and a known fire risk for structures, myths still persist about lightning protection.  Franklin’s famous kite and key experiment in 1750 proved that lightning is electricity and thus led to his invention of the lightning rod and structural lightning protection systems.  The Franklin rod was designed to conduct lightning’s electricity and disperse it safely into the ground.  Soon after Franklin’s invention, lightning rods and lightning protection systems began to be installed on buildings and homes for protection against a common cause of structural fire. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) first adopted “Specifications for Protection of Buildings Against Lightning” in 1904, which eventually led to lightning protection code 78 and the ensuing “Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems” NFPA 780 document adopted in 1992.

Lightning protection has come a long way since Franklin first invented the lightning rod in 1752, but the principles behind the science of lightning protection remain the same today.  Franklin’s famous quote, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” still rings true in terms of the security lightning protection can provide against nature’s underrated threat—whether that dangerous weather condition strikes in spring, summer, fall or even winter!