To his happy surprise, it turns out this weekend’s storm was a rare “thundersnow” event in which the blizzard was punctuated by occasional bursts of lightning. The Weather Channel itself has ...

However, police said that what people were actually hearing was the weather phenomenon known as "thundersnow". Two "extraordinarily loud" thunder claps were heard over the capital just before 05:00.

Thundersnow happens when strong upward motion ... winter conditions can make it even more dramatic. The loud cracks of winter thunder serve as a reminder that nature’s power knows no season.

Swap out the rain, and replace it with snow, and you have what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) describes as the “rare weather phenomenon” known as thundersnow.