Introduction: The Mystery of Winter Thunder
When the first snowflakes fall on the slightly yellowed mulberry leaves in the village, the beginning of winter is quietly coming. The villagers were happily enjoying their long sleep after the harvest, but the sky was roaring with winter thunder, like a god ringing thunder on the cold sky.
"This is a very unusual sign!" Uncle Zhang, an elderly man in the village, was feeding the sows in his haystack while looking up at the cloudy sky.
He recalled the proverb that had been circulated among the older generation: "Thunder strikes in winter, and graves are piled up." This proverb warns people that once there is a winter thunder after the beginning of winter, it means that it will be a troubled winter, and the graves will pile up.
However, the plausibility of this argument is worth testing. This article will analyze the causes of winter thunder in a scientific manner and analyze its mysteries, so that we can more accurately predict and respond to this extreme weather phenomenon.
Analysis of the causes of winter thunder
On a cold winter day, thunder roars in the sky, and the formation of this anomaly is actually nothing mysterious. When Uncle Zhang turned his gaze to the muddy ridge beneath his feet, he noticed that the temperature of the ground was continuing to drop.
This reminded Uncle Zhang that the formation of thunder and lightning needs to rely on the heat radiated from the ground to propel the air up, and collide with the water vapor in the air to discharge.
While pondering this question, Uncle Zhang found that the thick clouds accumulated in the sky seemed to be a little unusual, and there seemed to be some warm and moist breath mixed in the middle. He speculated that this may be the cause of the winter thunder – a strong collision between warm and moist air and cold air, resulting in a violent convective movement, which eventually caused a large amount of electricity to be discharged in the sparse cold air.
And with climate change and frequent cold spells, such extreme weather has become less rare. The widespread winter thunder in Northeast China in 2019 and the winter thunderstorms in many parts of the mainland this winter confirm the prediction that winter thunder is more likely to occur when extreme cold and warm airflows converge.
The hazards of winter thunder to humans and animals
When the roaring winter thunder breaks the silence of the scarecrow, the village is ushered in a cold and biting snowstorm. The villagers wrapped their cotton clothes tightly and were horrified to find that several mules in the bullpen were shivering, and even two of them had fallen to the ground and could not move.
Uncle Zhang stroked the dying mule distressedly, and said to himself: "This is the bad luck brought by the winter thunder in the mouths of the old people."
In fact, past statistics have proven that mortality in livestock herds does spike dramatically when extreme cold strikes. At the end of the 70s of the 20th century, there was a wide range of severe low temperature and cold damage on the mainland, causing the death of nearly 30 million livestock.
Even today, agriculture and animal husbandry in various places often suffer varying degrees of losses in the severe cold season.
In addition to livestock, human health and life safety are also at great risk during this extreme weather.
What to do
When the cold wave and heavy snowfall sweep in, how do we survive this difficulty? This is not only Uncle Zhang's question, but also the reality test for the whole village.
"We have to carry this snow, both humans and animals!" Zheng Zhongnian, the village head, announced in a deep voice, "Come on, open the warehouse and take out the bedding from the disaster relief reserves, and immediately send it to the cattle pen and the homes of the old, weak, sick and disabled!" At the same time, he organized strong laborers to go to the forest area to collect firewood for heating.
In addition, Dr. Wang, the village doctor, carried out publicity and education on cold protection and warmth. He asked the victims to actively exercise, drink more hot drinks, and distribute free Chinese herbal medicines to the elderly and weak to dispel cold.
The village social workers also conducted a survey of the elderly who were lonely and widowed, and provided them with heating and meals. With the joint efforts of the whole village, even if the cold wave is raging, the fate of people and animals has been able to avoid the terrible fate of "thunder and winter, and piles of graves" that have been spread for a long time.
Conclusion: Correctly understand the meaning of traditional proverbs
On the first sunny day after the cold spell, Uncle Zhang came to the edge of the cemetery and was surprised to find that the graves did not appear to be "piled up" as the proverb says. It made him wonder if our superstitions about some ancient traditions needed science.
"The phrase 'thunder strikes the winter, and the graves are piled up' is the life and scene summarized by the ancestors, and the wisdom contained in it cannot be taken lightly. Zheng Zhongling, the village head, walked up to Uncle Zhang, "But blind superstition is never advisable, we must look at the world from a scientific and humanitarian perspective."
Uncle Zhang nodded, the winter sun reflecting on his undulating brows. Perhaps, in the face of cold and despair, rationality and progress are our warmest lights.