The Relationship between Total Cloud Lightning Behavior and Radar-Derived Thunderstorm Structure

Abstract

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Subseasonal and Diurnal Variability in Lightning and Storm Activity over the Yangtze River Delta, China, during Mei-yu Season

“…Lightning activity is an effective indicator of deep convection and climate change, and has been widely investigated over different regions (Hondl and Eilts 1994;Zipser and Lutz 1994;Watson et al 1995;Gremillion and Orville 1999;Zipser et al 2006;Yuan and Qie 2008;Mosier et al 2011;Seroka et al 2012;Metzger and Nuss 2013;Qie et al 2014;Zheng et al 2016). Laboratory studies show that riming electrification is the main charge separation mechanism associated with thunderstorms, occurring mainly during graupel-ice crystal collisions with supercooled water (Takahashi 1978;Saunders 1993).…”

Total lightning observations and tools for the 20 May 2013 Moore, Oklahoma, tornadic supercell

“…This also was noted in a different case by Williams et al (1999). Recently, Metzger and Nuss (2013) demonstrated that there was rapid vertical growth of the 55-dBZ contour as a lightning jump was occurring in 64 of 69 observed cases.…”

“…Although lightning jumps can indicate increasing potential for severe weather, Metzger and Nuss (2013) and Schultz et al (2013) found that lightning jumps alone are insufficient to discriminate one type of severe weather from another. Thus, in order to use total lightning data and the lightning jump concept more effectively in the severe weather warning decision-making process, they must be combined with other observations, such as near-storm environmental data, radar, and satellite imagery (Schmit et al 2005).…”

Electrical Role for Severe Storm Tornadogenesis (and Modification)

“…The subject of electric discharges in the mesosphere was surveyed by Neubert, Rycroft, Farges, Blanc et al with attention given to coordinated storm observations made in Southern Europe and including IC 'sprite' activity, ionization, electromagnetic radiation, and 'runaway' energetic electron actions [31]. Metzger and Nuss [32] have pointed more recently to the National Lightning Detection Network using sferics via low and verylow frequency radio bands to detect CG lightning strokes and timeof-arrival analysis with high and very-high frequency radio bands for such IC stroke detections. Several such systems were set up in Florida, Alabama and New Mexico.…”