Tornadoes In/Near Snowstorms-Possible?

[Greg Stumpf]

wow... you really need turn that scanner on.

1) If I had one
2) The picture (22 years old) is buried away somewhere in my vast collection

 

[Bill Schintler]

A tornado passing over snow already on the ground from a previous winter storm might be in the realm of possibility. It would take something like an unseasonably northward-protruding warm sector ahead of a strong surface low (IE a 11/10/02-like event) to suddenly overrun the swath of a major snowstorm from a few days prior. If 1.) the snow on the ground was deep enough to not completely melt away during the warm temps, and 2.) if the setup was strong enough to compensate for limited heating due to reflective snow-covered ground.

I witnessed one such incident in late February in the late 1980’s in Eastern IA. I forget the exact year/date. The day started out with dense fog and temperatures around 40F with a thick snow cover on seasonably cold ground. The warm front pushed through early in the afternoon, partially clearing skies and allowing for temperatures and dewpoints to briefly shoot up into the low-60’s before storms and embedded weak supercells along a trailing cold front approached the area. I watched a weak (F0) tornado which persisted for at least 5 minutes until it became rain-wrapped, from a distance of a few miles. Damage was minor, mainly roof damage to a couple of structure that took a direct hit. Nevertheless, there was a partial snow cover on the ground while this event took place - bill

 

[Melissa Moon]

Yes it can definitely happen, as the others have said. I'll never forget one time when I was younger (I'd say in the late '90's) I was watching the Weather Channel, and Jim Cantore was broadcasting live for some snow event. Then in the background there was a clap of thunder and he freaked out...he was like "whoaaa was that THUNDER??? I didn't know that could happen!" or something to that effect.

 

[Jared Mysko]

So you guys are looking for "extreme" winter weather? I am expecting to see the return of historic snow falls from the past around these parts this year... in the 40's a train was burried by a pretty big blizzard in Saskatchewan.

Our first snowfall of the year comes usually in September sometime, however due to the fantasic hurricane season in the gulf, we have been experiencing some really boring weather this ""autumn"" (we are going to change the names of our seasons soon...) , anyhoo, a WINTER STORM WARNING is now up and I expect our first snowfall any minute here in Saskatoon. Listen to all the car accidents on my scanner feed when the freezing rain hits morning rush hour! Hopefully I won't be late for school...

Jared Mysko
Graphic Design/New Media Production
saskatoonscanner.com

 

[Sam Sagnella]

I came across a passage in the book Extreme Weather by Christopher C. Burt that deals with the subject of snow tornadoes. It's located on page 101 if anyone else owns this.

Although there are no confirmed reports of a tornado actually forming in a snowstorm, occasionally they have traveled over snow covered fields and forests and sucked the snow into their vortices, giving them the appearance of the proverbial white tornado of Top Job fame. Such was the case in Utah on December 2, 1970, when a twister moved across the Timpanogas Divide, where a snow cover of some 38\" had accumulated. The tornado was powerful enough to snap trees one foot in diameter and suck snow over a thousand feet high into its funnel. This gave it a solid white appearance.

 

[David Draun]

I seem to remember a story of a very damaging mini sup that formed in Britain. I think it produced a mid-range tornado, and the air temperature was cold enough to produce some snow in the precip shaft of the storm.

This has got to still be in the archives, but I have no idea where to look, that stuff is uncategorized. Help me?