While white knuckling the steering wheel as I slowly drove to Winona this morning I was fortunate to witness something I think I’ve only seen a few times in my life…  a snowstorm that included lightning and thunder!

Nope, this picture isn’t from today, but it was about as close as I could get.  Due to the condition of the roads there was zero chance of me pulling over to get a picture.  If you didn’t see it, you’ll just have to imagine it and see it in your mind’s eye like I’m doing now.

The skies were super dark, the clouds heavy and steely gray while not letting much light in.  Due to the sunrise there was a little of a yellowish red tint that made the entire hue of the earth a little of a glowing brown even in the darkish light.  On my right the Mississippi looked like a river of dark iron churning like the ocean on a rough day.  The wind was blowing the trees incessantly and many of the trees seemed to be bending further than they should.

As I did my best to keep my eyes forward and on the road I saw a quick bright flash to the north.  It took a moment for my mind to register what had just happened.  Once I realized it and then saw it again a smile pulled across my face.  Thunder and lightning in a snowstorm!  How crazy is that?  The rest of my drive I watched flash after flash, some much closer than I’d expected.  It was so beautiful with the snow in the background as everything seemed a little more crisp, clear and bright against the white canvas.

Trust me, by now I’ve pretty much tired of the gloomy, sloppy, gross weather.  With that said, I am still catching myself looking back at that awesome drive this morning and smiling all along.  One of my favorite parts of a vacation is seeing unique natural phenomena, how cool is it that I didn’t even have to veer off my normal course to see this today?

Thanks!!!