Why are we hearing thunder with sleet storm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area?
Thundersleet is likely in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Tuesday and has already been heard in Fort Worth this morning.
So what exactly is thundersleet and why does it happen?
The rare condition — which can also include thundersnow — occurs when a winter thunderstorm produces sleet or snow instead of rain, according to the National Weather Service. You’re more likely to hear thunder and see lightning during heavy winter precipitation — not light snowfall — because the atmosphere is more unstable.
“While thundersnow is rare, it can be considered even rarer when sleet and freezing rain are accompanied by thunder and lightning,” according to FOX Weather senior digital meteorologist Brian Donegan.
In a FOX Weather report on Monday, Donegan said that atmospheric conditions must align for a storm to produce sleet or freezing rain instead of snow, and additional ingredients are needed to create the thunder and lightning.
Sleet occurs when snowflakes melt into raindrops as they fall from clouds but refreeze into ice pellets before they hit the ground, which requires subfreezing temperatures at the surface, he said. The thunder and lightning is caused by warm air being pulled into the storm system, which creates updrafts and instability, Donegan said.
Residents in North and Central Texas should expect isolated thunderstorms with bursts of accumulating sleet and freezing rain to continue through Tuesday morning, the weather service office in Fort Worth said.
