The electrification of New Mexico thunderstorms: 1. Relationship between precipitation development and the onset of electrification

Dye, J. E.; Winn, W. P.; Jones, J. J.; Breed, Daniel

doi:10.1029/jd094id06p08643

Cited by 109 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…It is assumed that important vertical velocities are required to carry relative humidity in altitude (generation of supercooled liquid water) and to separate charges thanks to the noninductive charging process (Reynolds et al, 1957;Williams and Lhermitte, 1983;Dye et al, 1989;Rutledge et al, 1992;Carey and Rutledge, 1996;Petersen et al, 1999;Latham et al, 2007). In the tropics, the troposphere has high value of relative humidity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A lightning climatology of the South-West Indian Ocean

Bovalo

Barthe

Bègue

2012

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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The SWIO is characterized by a wet season (November to April) and a dry season (May to October). As one could expect, lightning activity is more intense during the wet season as the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is present over all the basin. Flash density is higher over land in November-December-January with values reaching 3-4 fl km −2 yr −1 over Madagascar. During the dry season, lightning activity is quite rare between 10 • S and 25 • S. The Mascarene anticyclone has more influence on the SWIO resulting in shallower convection. Lightning activity is concentrated over ocean, east of South Africa and Madagascar.A statistical analysis has shown that El Niño-Southern Oscillation mainly modulates the lightning activity up to 56.8 % in the SWIO. The Indian Ocean Dipole has a significant contribution since ∼ 49 % of the variability is explained by this forcing in some regions. The Madden-Julian Oscillation did not show significative impact on the lightning activity in our study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A lightning climatology of the South-West Indian Ocean

Bovalo

Barthe

Bègue

2012

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…40 dBZ at 2108C likely requires the existence of graupel and/or hail at this height. The presence of 40-dBZ reflectivity at the 2108C isotherm height has also been successfully used to predict the onset of lightning (e.g., Dye et al 1989;Gremillion and Orville 1999;Vincent et al 2003), a further indication of its relationship to graupel mass. Therefore, forecasters can use either the area of the 40-dBZ isoecho at 2108C or the total lightning flash rate (or both) to indirectly estimate the graupel mass and the intensity of the thunderstorm updraft, thereby providing insight into whether hail accumulations (and other hazardous weather events) are possible.…”

Section: Lightning and Ice Mass Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Colorado Plowable Hailstorms: Synoptic Weather, Radar, and Lightning Characteristics

Kalina

Friedrich

Motta

et al. 2016

Weather and Forecasting

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Synoptic weather, S-band dual-polarization radar, and total lightning observations are analyzed from four thunderstorms that produced ''plowable'' hail accumulations of 15-60 cm in localized areas of the Colorado Front Range. Results indicate that moist, relatively slow (5-15 m s 21) southwesterly-to-westerly flow at 500 hPa and postfrontal low-level upslope flow, with 2-m dewpoint temperatures of 118-198C at 1200 LST, were present on each plowable hail day. This pattern resulted in column-integrated precipitable water values that were 132%-184% of the monthly means and freezing-level heights that were 100-700 m higher than average. Radar data indicate that between one and three maxima in reflectivity Z (68-75 dBZ) and 50-dBZ echo-top height (11-15 km MSL) occurred over the lifetime of each hailstorm. These maxima, which imply an enhancement in updraft strength, resulted in increased graupel and hail production and accumulating hail at the surface within 30 min of the highest echo tops. The hail core had Z ; 70 dBZ, differential reflectivity Z DR from 0 to 24 dB, and correlation coefficient r HV of 0.80-0.95. Time-height plots reveal that these minima in Z DR and r HV gradually descended to the surface after originating at heights of 6-10 km MSL ;15-60 min prior to accumulating hailfall. Hail accumulations estimated from the radar data pinpoint the times and locations of plowable hail, with depths greater than 5 cm collocated with the plowable hail reports. Three of the four hail events were accompanied by lightning flash rates near the maximum observed thus far within the thunderstorm.

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“…For example, the maximum height of 30 dBZ echo is an indicator of how high the updraft can loft large supercooled liquid or ice particles [DeMott and Rutledge, 1998]. Several studies indicate that the presence of radar echoes above a threshold value of 35-40 dBZ in the mixed-phase region is a good indicator of electrical activity sufficient for lightning [Dye et al, 1989;Buechler and Goodman, 1990;Williams et al, 1992;Petersen et al, 1996;Gremillion and Orville, 1999]. In this study, the maximum radar reflectivity is calculated between temperatures of 10°C to −60°C with 5°C intervals.…”

Section: Maximum Radar Reflectivity and Convective Rain Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

On the relationships between lightning frequency and thundercloud parameters of regional precipitation systems

Zipser

Liu

et al. 2010

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] Seasonal variations on lightning activity of precipitation systems over south China and Taiwan before and after the onset of Mei-Yu have been observed by the lightning imager sensor (LIS) on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. Lightning storms before Mei-Yu onset show higher probability of lightning, higher flash rate, and larger radar reflectivity in the mixed-phase region than the Mei-Yu regime. However, the probability of lightning occurrence with the same threshold of maximum radar reflectivity or ice scattering signature is similar for land systems before and during Mei-Yu season. Oceanic systems show slightly lower probability of lightning even with the same thresholds. Relationships between a set of TRMM-observed parameters and LIS lightning frequency are further examined. For lightning systems over land, the total area of radar echo above 35 dBZ has a closer relationship with lightning flash rate at the temperature between −5°C and −15°C than other parameters. Area of lower radar reflectivity at colder temperature, e.g., area of 20 dBZ at −40°C, is also highly correlated with lightning frequency. The highest correlation between area of specific radar reflectivity and lightning frequency is found at lower temperatures when the oceanic lightning systems are examined.

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The electrification of New Mexico thunderstorms: 1. Relationship between precipitation development and the onset of electrification

Cited by 109 publications

References 10 publications

A lightning climatology of the South-West Indian Ocean

A lightning climatology of the South-West Indian Ocean

Colorado Plowable Hailstorms: Synoptic Weather, Radar, and Lightning Characteristics

On the relationships between lightning frequency and thundercloud parameters of regional precipitation systems

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