Thundersnow - third time in a week!

[John Farley]

Saw thundersnow today for the third time in a week! I was coming into the Pagosa area from the south on U.S. 84 when the storm started going up almost over my head, so I pursued it up to the scenic overlook west of Wolf Creek Pass as it began to spit CG (cloud-to-ground lightning) then drop graupel (snow pellets) and snow above about 9,000 feet, with frequent rumbles of thunder after the initial short barrage of CG. Unfortunately I had only my crappy point-and-shoot camera and was playing catch-up with the storm. Hence the pictures I got are so-so and the video (which is linked below) is technically poor. But the storm was very dramatic, and certainly the first time in my life to experience thundersnow 3 times in a week. The first picture shows the updraft base as the storm was forming, the second the snow and graupel falling just to my west (CG was in this area, but I did not get any on video, as the last one happened just as I was setting up at the scenic overlook to video). The third picture shows the storm as it was moving away on the other side of the mountains.



Youtube video here: