Clue to Bizarre Weather? Thunder & Lightening in NC Snow Storms?

[KoKo]

I was surpised when my area in NC had it's third snowstorm of this Winter (unusual for Piedmont NC) and there was lightening and thunder as the snow was falling. This plus that NC seems to have been subjected to some really strange weather (hurricanes, snows)the last 5 years has been puzzling me as to why the mid-section of our state has been so affected. As for Snowstorms in Turkey/Jordan and thousands dying in Paris heat wave last Summer, maybe it's whatever is going on in the way of envirnomental destruction in that part of the world which is contributing. It's odd weather everywhere and in the US lately and maybe this provides a clue.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=570&ncid=753&e=4&u=/nm/20040226/sc_nm/environment_smoke_dc

Science - Reuters

Smoke Pollution Makes for Stronger Storms - Study

Thu Feb 26, 5:02 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Smoke drifting from burning forests in the Amazon is affecting the climate across the entire continent -- drying up rain but making the storms that do develop much more violent than usual, scientists reported on Thursday.

Smoke rises to the clouds, delaying the release of rain and allowing the clouds to grow taller than they otherwise would, the researchers said. Higher clouds produce violent thunderstorms, and while less rain falls to the ground, it often comes in the form of hail and thunderstorms instead of more nourishing, gentle rains, they said.

Plus the storms push the smoke into higher atmospheric levels, allowing it to be carried far and wide, the international team reports in Friday's issue of the journal Science."The invigorated storms release the latent heat higher in the atmosphere," they wrote in their report. "This should substantially affect the regional and global circulation systems."

[wuushew]

1. DARPA

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