Buffalo, New York, was enveloped by an eerie wall of snowfall rolling into the city on Thursday.
Buffalo experienced all sorts of weather-related events on Thursday when the city saw lightning, heard thunder and experienced a fast accumulation of snowfall at a rate of up to 4 inches per hour. The phenomenon was a byproduct of the lake-effect snowstorm.
A drone captured the timelapse footage, and the video was published on The Weather Channel. The video depicts a wall of snow with clear cut-off points enveloping the city. During the timelapse, the combination of the city lights and the snowfall created an ominous dusky orange glow. Bursts of lightning, a rare occurrence with snow, accentuated the video. View the video here.
In a subsequent video, The Weather Channel meteorologist Domenica Davis explained the science behind what is known as "thundersnow".
"It's not a common occurrence but isn't unheard of, especially around the Great Lakes," she said. "Just like with traditional thunderstorms, you need instability and that's what we were getting over the Great Lakes yesterday."
The drone footage said only .07 percent of snowstorms include lightning, as warm air is needed to create enough instability to produce the lightning. As cold air blew over the warmer water in the Great Lakes, air was forced upward rapidly, creating the thunder and flashes of lightning, Davis said.
The lake effect also produced a band of snow with "ridiculous" amounts of snow, according to Davis.
"We are expecting to see that intensity with the snow bands last into the weekend, so that means more thundersnow could be likely," she said.
ABC News reported the worst of the storm would likely be experienced on Friday. The article said the storm has stopped traffic, broken trees and damaged property. Some residents are experiencing a power outage.
A National Weather Service report said Buffalo will likely see snowfall of more than 4 feet accompanied by "very cold air" as temperatures dropped 20 degrees below the normal forecast.
Buffalo-area residents shared their experiences on Twitter, with one resident saying the lightning occurred off-and-on for seven hours.
"One of the most prolific thundersnow events I've ever seen," he tweeted.
Colin McCarthy, a news contributor studying atmospheric science, tweeted that the storm was historic and extremely close-range. He shared a video with the tweet, which has received over 173,000 views.
The video shows heavy snow accumulation with a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder. One Twitter user said the thunder sounded like a whip.
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