Straight from the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted out a picture of a weather phenomenon that few get to witness on Earth, let alone from space.
People waking up Saturday morning were treated a picture of thundersnow, as seen from Kelly’s point of view, as it struck within the massive snowstorm slamming the East Coast of the United States.
Rare #thundersnow visible from @Space_Station in #blizzard2016! #Snowzilla #snowmaggedon2016 #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/l3p6hjnJOq
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) January 23, 2016
For the past several hours, Kelly has been tweeting his 802,000 followers with several pictures of “Blizzard 2016,” as seen from space.
As #blizzard2016 passes over #Chicago, the #EastCoast seen in distance clearly has a long way to go. #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/qMrkTXo9ie
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) January 23, 2016
Thunderstorms are uncommon during the wintertime in the United States, but sometimes lightning can occur within a snowstorm, resulting in what is called thundersnow.
According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, thundersnow “can be found where there is relatively strong instability and abundant moisture above the surface, such as above a warm front.”
