Just when I thought I knew what to expect from the British weather – along comes a new phenomenon – thunder snow.

This weather condition is, as the name suggests, a combination of snow and a thunderstorm.

The Met Office explains: “If the weather is cold the rain associated with a thunderstorm can then fall as snow and thus is called thunder snow. This is unusual only because it can only occur in a few months of the year.

“When thunder snow occurs at night the lightning seems brighter – this is because the lightning reflects off the snowflakes.”

Cornwall, South Wales, Tayside and Teesside have been lucky, or unlucky, enough to see the spectacular thunder snow recently.

The older I get, the less excited I get about snow. I still remember the exhilaration as a child waking up to a world covered in white; I could never understand why the adults were not quite so thrilled. Nowadays, of course, I just think about the travel difficulties, the prospect of falling over and the slushy mess that will follow with the thaw! Building a snowman seems more like hard work than fun and the idea of sledging – well that’s surely just reckless and dangerous!!!

However, even in my bah humbug days, I do quite fancy witnessing the sight of thunder snow – from the warmth and safety of my home of course.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/thunder-and-lightning/thunder-snow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30814403