Does Thunder in the Winter Mean Snow in 10 Days?

Meteorologist Kaitlin Wright breaks down the number of measurable snow days within 10 days of thunder

We have heard thunder twice now in 2021. The first time was January 26th. The second time was today, February 11th. According to the old wives’ tale, expect measurable snow in the next 10 days!

Not so fast! In the last 5 Meteorological winters (winter 2017 – winter 2021) which are classified as December, January and February there have been 17 winter days with thunder, and only one of those times did we see measurable snow within 10 days.

Thunder and Snow Wives' TaleMeaning in the last 5 years, only 6% of the time did we had measurable snow within 10 days of hearing thunder. The truth and data of it is, it rarely snows within that window. It is possible, but rare.