First snow of the year

Too bad Dad didn't get to see any by the time he left on Sunday. Should have brought a camera to school.

It turned into a snow/hail thunderstorm in the afternoon. My teacher had a Japanese name for it, which I forgot, but I noticed that every time a thunder struck it seemed to cause the snow/hail to fall much harder temporarily. The strangest weather phenomenon I've experienced, besides the Taiwanese monsoon season and the sunny days of California.

(updated 12/12/05: the Japanese word for thunder snowstorm or snow thunderstorm is
雪お越し, which means the beginning of snow)