thundersnow

Etymology

From thunder + snow.

thundersnow means A thunderstorm accompanied by snow, rather than rain or hail. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.

Why this word is great

THUNDERSNOW — [Noun] A thunderstorm in which snow falls as the primary form of precipitation. From thunder + snow, a compound word describing the phenomenon. Unlike a "blizzard," a horizontal siege of wind and ice, or a "thunderstorm," the warm season's violent, liquid release, thundersnow is winter's profound atmospheric paradox—a muffled violence. It is the apocalyptic, blue-white flash illuminating a swirling whiteout; the woolen boom of thunder absorbed by a dense, falling quilt; and the eerie, deepened silence that swallows the clap whole. A brief, jarring reminder that nature's categories are not ours, and that wonder can arrive as a violent, silent contradiction.

noun

A thunderstorm accompanied by snow, rather than rain or hail.