Regional variation of electrical and lightning properties of thunderclouds during the pre-monsoon season over the north-eastern and eastern part of India

Biswasharma, Rupraj; Rao, T. Narayana; Imolemba,; Imlisunup,; Samanta, Debajyoti; Pramanik, Gour Prasad; Sharma, Sanjay

doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2021.105683

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…The result is in agreement with the Biswasharma et al . (2021), where it is reported that over the eastern and northeastern part of India, occurrence as well as intensity of the thunderclouds is maximum during 1500 to 1800 IST. The present result is also consistent with the Cecil and Blankenship (2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiscale interaction of circulation with local topography plays an important role in shaping the weather and climate in this region (Goswami et al ., 2010). This region is highly vulnerable to the occurrence of extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, hail, lightning, and strong wind during the premonsoon season (March through May) (Koteswaram and Srinivasan, 1958; Sen and Basu, 1961; Chaudhury and Banerjee, 1983; Ono, 1998; Karmakar and Alam, 2006; Kumar and Mohapatra, 2006; Yamane et al ., 2009; Dalal et al ., 2012; Mahanta et al ., 2013; Choudhury et al ., 2016; Mahanta and Yamane, 2020; Biswasharma et al ., 2021), causing fatalities and damage to agriculture as well as to property (De et al ., 2005; Bhardwaj et al ., 2017). Hailstorms, in particular, are one of the primary contributors to these losses (Chattopadhyay et al ., 2017; Rymbai et al ., 2019; Raihan et al ., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Space–time variation of large hail‐producing mesoscale convective systems over a complex terrain of the Indian subcontinent as revealed by the integrated Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Global Precipitation Measurement observations

Rao

Biswasharma

et al. 2023

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Space–time variation of large hail‐producing mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) is investigated over the eastern and northeastern parts of the Indian subcontinent during the premonsoon (March–April–May) season by using long‐term (1998–2020) integrated observations of Precipitation Radar and Microwave Imager onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellites. A threshold of 37.0‐GHz polarization‐corrected temperature (≤176 K) is utilized as a hail proxy. Qualitatively, the space–time variation of satellite‐detected hailstorms is reasonably in good agreement with the available hail reports at the ground. The large hail‐producing MCSs are most frequently observed over the plains, whereas such MCSs are not found over mountains. The MCSs in April have the highest probability to contain hail though the hail‐producing MCSs are more common in May. The average morphological and microphysical properties are distinctly different for the MCSs with and without hail. Compared to the active convective cores of MCSs without hail, the hail‐producing convective cores of MCSs (a) are extended higher vertically and wider horizontally, (b) are associated with much larger area (~1,000 vs. 100 km2) occupied by radar reflectivity larger than 40 dBZ in the mixed‐phase region, and (c) are associated with larger values of cloud ice water content (CIWC; 395 vs. 153 mg·m−3) in the mixed‐phase region. The results from the high‐resolution ERA5 reanalysis data show that the hail‐producing MCSs are more sensitive to synoptic forcing than the MCSs without hail. Very strong mean sea‐level pressure anomalies over the whole northern part of India along the Himalayan foothills to the Bay of Bengal occur for the MCSs with hail days. The findings of this study will help the forecasting of these hailstorms and mitigation of their damage within this less explored region.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space–time variation of large hail‐producing mesoscale convective systems over a complex terrain of the Indian subcontinent as revealed by the integrated Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Global Precipitation Measurement observations

Rao

Biswasharma

et al. 2023

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…The pre‐monsoon thunderstorms are more intense, especially along the Meghalaya plateau and sub‐Himalayan foothills, where Z ratios are slightly higher (more than 4) than in other parts. Also, the northeastern region, due to steep orography and continuous moisture availability from Bay‐of‐Bengal, exhibits a broader stratiform cloud with lower convective updraft in monsoon (Houze et al., 2007), which is responsible for less IC lightning and significantly less Z ratio (Biswasharma et al., 2021). Many nocturnal thunderstorms form in the northeastern region due to radiative cooling at night (Murugavel et al., 2014; Pawar et al., 2015), which may be characterized as elevated thunderstorms.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and Regional Distribution of Lightning Fraction Over Indian Subcontinent

Ghosh

Pawar

Hazra

et al. 2023

Earth and Space Science

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Four years of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology lightning location network lightning observation data are used to determine the seasonal and spatial (over different geographical locations) distribution of the ratio of intra‐cloud (IC) lightning to cloud‐to‐ground (CG) lightning in thunderstorms over the Indian subcontinent. The ratio is high (6–10) in the northwestern parts and low (0.5–3.5) in the northeastern parts. No prominent latitudinal variation of the IC to CG ratio exists, but a climatological seasonal variability exists over all regions. In the pre‐monsoon season (March–May), the mean ratio is observed to be 3.81 with a standard deviation of 0.79, and during the monsoon season (June–September), a value of 3.04 with a standard deviation of 0.50. Although convective available potential energy is the regulating factor, little dependency has been found between the ratio of IC to CG lightning (IC:CG ratio) and the total flash rate (f), as well as with cold cloud depths. The ratio is observed to be proportional to the total flash rate as f0.61. The cold cloud depth is most prominently linked with the regional and seasonal IC:CG ratio. The implication of these observed results has the importance of separating CG lightning flash from total and can be used in numerical models to give a proper prediction of CG lightning in hazard mitigation.

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“…There are five distinctly identifiable thunderstorm-prone regions-Northeast India (NEI), Southern Peninsula (SP), Central India (CI), East Coast of India (ECI), and Northwest India (NWI) [26]. Each thunderstorm-prone region is defined based on its trigger mechanism, lightning structure, microphysical, and dynamical properties [2,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of ECMWF Lightning Flash Forecast over Indian Subcontinent during MAM 2020

et al. 2022

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During the pre-monsoon season (March–April–May), the eastern and northeastern parts of India, Himalayan foothills, and southern parts of India experience extensive lightning activity. Mean moisture, surface and upper-level winds, the sheared atmosphere in the lower level, and high positive values of vertically integrated moisture flux convergence (VIMFC) create favorable conditions for deep convective systems to occur, generating lightning. From mid-2018, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) operationally introduced lightning flash density on a global scale. This study evaluates the ECMWF lightning forecasts over India during the pre-monsoon season of 2020 using the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Lightning Location Network (LLN) observation data. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the ECMWF lightning forecast has shown that the lightning forecast with a 72-h lead time can capture the spatial and temporal variation of lightning with a 90% skill score.

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Regional variation of electrical and lightning properties of thunderclouds during the pre-monsoon season over the north-eastern and eastern part of India

Cited by 10 publications

References 90 publications

Space–time variation of large hail‐producing mesoscale convective systems over a complex terrain of the Indian subcontinent as revealed by the integrated Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Global Precipitation Measurement observations

Space–time variation of large hail‐producing mesoscale convective systems over a complex terrain of the Indian subcontinent as revealed by the integrated Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and Global Precipitation Measurement observations

Seasonal and Regional Distribution of Lightning Fraction Over Indian Subcontinent

Evaluation of ECMWF Lightning Flash Forecast over Indian Subcontinent during MAM 2020

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