The skies above New York City experienced an inversion, where warm air locks in cooler air below and bounces the thunderous booms back to the ground.
It'd be hard to find someone who wasn't rocked out of bed Monday by thunder loud enough to put some alarm clocks to shame.
Rolling thunderstorms made for a raucous morning, with showers and lightning filling the skies above New York City -- one lightning strike reportedly hit One World Trade Center.
But it was the 6 a.m. thunder that was the talk of the town, created by a special weather inversion to turn up the volume.
Storm Team 4 says that a warm inversion layer trapped the sound of the thunder, essentially sending it back to the ground and creating the unique, larger than normal boom.
The storms were brief, pushing out east and clearing after the morning commute. Conditions won't improve drastically as the rest of the day calls for gray skies with some areas of fog and drizzle.
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Another chance for showers is in store for the afternoon before the rain takes a brief break and swings back on Wednesday.
