OMG!!!! We've Got Thundersnow and Everyone Is Freaking Out
Thundersnow, simply put, is a thunderstorm accompanied by snow instead of rain
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Thundersnow as captured by residents in Staten Island; Park Slope, Brooklyn; and Lumberton, New Jersey during the nor’easter Wednesday.
What to Know
A second major winter storm in a week could bring snowfall rates of 2+ inches an hour at times on Wednesday and significant accumulations
NYC could see up to 10 inches, though 6 is more likely; more than a foot is expected in suburbs north and west
The storm comes on the heels of last week's nor'easter that punished the tri-state with flooding rain and damaging winds
The second nor'easter to pummel the tri-state area in the last week is bringing less ferocious winds, but a fairly rare -- and apparently very, very exciting -- weather phenomenon: thundersnow.
Thundersnow, simply put, is a thunderstorm with snow instead of rain. Shallow layers of unstable air create enhanced upward motion, increasing snow growth and creating enough electric charge separation for lightning. Hail is also possible in thundersnow scenarios.
Janice Huff explains the thundersnow phenomenon.
Twitter erupted with comments from people who heard booms of thunder as snow intensified in New York and New Jersey shortly after noon Wednesday. (We even saw it here at NBC 4 New York's offices just about 1:15 p.m.)
Candice Baker captured this thunder as she was watching the snow fall in Staten Island by the St. George Ferry Terminal Wednesday.
Some described it as sounding like an explosion. Others said they thought it was a plow crashing. Still others reported seeing lightning as well.
Did you hear it? Get it on some of the fun below.
StormTracker4 showing #thundersnow moving through the area. Intense snowfall rates over 1-2" per hour are expected this afternoon pic.twitter.com/TImfm3vb9E
Ryan Lahiff
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Dawn Thursday revealed more destruction. Here, a fallen tree crushes a car at Vanderbilt and Myrtle avenues in Fort Greene.
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Andi, a Boston Terrier mix who wandered the streets after Hurricane Maria before being rescued from Puerto Rico earlier this year, tries to keep at least one paw out of the snow at her Maplewood home.
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A driver spun out and flipped her car on the LIE as the storm worsened. (She wasn't seriously injured.)
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By 10 a.m. Nutley, NJ was already coated with a solid 2 inches of snow.
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Two tractor-trailers collided on the eastbound LIE near exit 35 as the snow picked up.
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Hard to beat the sights in Manhattan on a snowy morning, at least before the storm gets bad.
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The fourth nor'easter of March may bring a foot of snow to NYC, including this basketball court in Brooklyn.
News 4 New York
The calm before the storm, as seen from Hoboken early Wednesday morning. By 8 a.m. snow was steadier in New York City, accumulating in parts of Staten Island.
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By 9 a.m. it was already getting difficult to get a train to either Boston or Washington.
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In the New Jersey suburbs around Newark, snow wasn't sticking to much yet as of 8:30 a.m.
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A 30-40 foot tree falls in backyard of Short Hills, New Jersey home, narrowly missing the guest house by only inches.
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Valeria Montenegro in Copiague, Long Island, shares with News 4 this view of her street caused by the storm: "The trampoline has been blown out of someone's yard and is now tangled in the power lines and is partially obstructing the street."
A huge tree came crashing down onto a car on 235th Street near Riverdale Avenue in the Bronx.
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Carli waits for a car ride on a snowy afternoon in Vernon, New Jersey, on Wednesday, March 7, 2018.
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