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The Thunderstorms With the Greatest Lightning Densities on Earth

Journal Article · · Earth and Space Science
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023ea003304· OSTI ID:2426789
 [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
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The most intense thunderstorms on Earth were surveyed using the comprehensive meteorological instrumentation on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. Expansive land-based Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) were consistently identified among the Earth's most intense thunderstorms, with their organization into many convective cells spanning a large areal extent permitting exceptional overall flash rates for these storms. In this study, we identify a new class of extreme thunderstorm. Lightning-dense thunderstorms are relatively compact convective storms whose concentrated lightning activity hinders our ability to accurately measure their flash rates. The top storms have a flash rate of one flash spanning many seconds, as there is insufficient separation to distinguish one flash from another. While any particularly active convective cell could be capable of producing high lightning densities, we find that thunderstorms with the greatest lightning densities on Earth are found in maritime thunderstorms that have not been appreciated in prior work due to the inaccurate flash rate measurements. These storms that are mostly found throughout the Gulf of Mexico and east of South Africa (among other coastal and oceanic regions) have measured TRMM proxies for convective intensity that rival the top MCS thunderstorms, but their horizontal and vertical dimensions are small by comparison. Thus, the necessary microphysical elements for electrification processes are more highly concentrated, enabling the observed extreme lightning densities.
Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
2426789
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--23-30581
Journal Information:
Earth and Space Science, Journal Name: Earth and Space Science Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 11; ISSN 2333-5084
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU) - WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Earth Sciences
LIS
TRMM
extreme
lightning
thunderstorms