Relationships among Narrow Bipolar Events, “total” lightning, and radar‐inferred convective strength in Great Plains thunderstorms

[1] Narrow Bipolar Events (NBEs) are a recently discovered distinct class of intracloud lightning discharges whose associated processes produce the most powerful very high frequency (VHF) radiation observed from lightning. NBEs are thus the prime candidate for proposed satellite-based VHF global lightning mapping and storm tracking missions. In this study, we offer a detailed evaluation of the Great Plains Los Alamos Sferic Array (LASA). We then statistically compare NBE rates to non-NBE lightning rates measured by both the LASA and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) and to NEXRAD radar-inferred metrics of convective strength for thunderstorms in the Great Plains from May to July 2005. We find strong correlations between total lightning rate and convective strength, especially in terms of the height of 30 dBZ radar echo. However, we find much weaker correlations between NBE rate and non-NBE lightning rate and between NBE rate and radar-inferred convective strength. Though NBEs occur in the same storms as other lightning, they cluster more closely in both space and time and may be indicative of specific types of storms and/or specific stages in convective development. Indeed, we find that NBEs are more prevalent in, and perhaps indicative of, the strongest convection. However, even the strongest convection (as inferred by radar) does not always produce NBEs. We compare these results to past studies of NBEs which were based in Florida. We also briefly discuss the implications of these results for satellite-based VHF lightning detection.

[1]  David M. Le Vine,et al.  Sources of the strongest RF radiation from lightning , 1980 .

[2]  Michael Stock,et al.  Total Lightning Observations with the New and Improved Los Alamos Sferic Array (LASA) , 2006 .

[3]  David A. Smith,et al.  A distinct class of isolated intracloud lightning discharges and their associated radio emissions , 1999 .

[4]  Donald W. Burgess,et al.  Lightning Rates Relative to Tornadic Storm Evolution on 22 May 1981 , 1989 .

[5]  Carl G. Mohr,et al.  The Simple Rectification to Cartesian Space of Folded Radial Velocities from Doppler Radar Sampling , 1986 .

[6]  T. E. Light,et al.  Katrina and Rita were lit up with lightning , 2005 .

[7]  Abram R. Jacobson,et al.  Characteristics of impulsive VHF lightning signals observed by the FORTE satellite , 2002 .

[8]  P. Krehbiel,et al.  Accuracy of the Lightning Mapping Array , 2003 .

[9]  E. Zipser,et al.  Radar, Passive Microwave, and Lightning Characteristics of Precipitating Systems in the Tropics , 2002 .

[10]  Eric C. Bruning,et al.  Inverted-polarity electrical structures in thunderstorms in the Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Study (STEPS) , 2005 .

[11]  Jeffrey C. Bailey,et al.  A class of unusual lightning electric field waveforms with very strong high‐frequency radiation , 1989 .

[12]  Steven A. Rutledge,et al.  Submitted to: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences , 2004 .

[13]  V. Chandrasekar,et al.  The Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Study , 2001 .

[14]  E. Williams,et al.  The Electrification of Severe Storms , 2001 .

[15]  N. Dotzek.  Book review: Doswell, C. A., 2001: Severe Convective Storms. Meteor. Monogr., 28(50), Amer. Meteor. Soc., Boston, 561 S. , 2004 .

[16]  Lawrence D. Carey,et al.  The Relationship between Severe Storm Reports and Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Polarity in the Contiguous United States from 1989 to 1998 , 2003 .

[17]  D. M. Suszcynsky,et al.  Narrow Bipolar Events as indicators of thunderstorm convective strength , 2003 .

[18]  D. Boccippio.  Lightning Scaling Relations Revisited , 2002 .

[19]  Timothy J. Lang,et al.  Relationships between Convective Storm Kinematics, Precipitation, and Lightning , 2002 .

[20]  Earle R. Williams,et al.  Large-scale charge separation in thunderclouds , 1985 .

[21]  Lawrence D. Carey,et al.  A multiparameter radar case study of the microphysical and kinematic evolution of a lightning producing storm , 1996 .

[22]  C. R. Holmes,et al.  Thunderstorm on July 16, 1975, over Langmuir laboratory: A case study , 1978 .

[23]  R. L. Vaughan,et al.  An Economical Procedure for Cartesian Interpolation and Display of Reflectivity Factor Data in Three-Dimensional Space , 1979 .

[24]  Hartmut Höller,et al.  Lightning Evolution Related to Radar-Derived Microphysics in the 21 July 1998 EULINOX Supercell Storm , 2001 .

[25]  James E. Dye,et al.  The electrification of New Mexico thunderstorms: 1. Relationship between precipitation development and the onset of electrification , 1989 .

[26]  Hugh J. Christian,et al.  TRMM observations of the global relationship between ice water content and lightning , 2005 .

[27]  Paul Krehbiel,et al.  Observations of VHF source powers radiated by lightning , 2001 .

[28]  Lawrence D. Carey,et al.  Electrical and multiparameter radar observations of a severe hailstorm , 1998 .

[29]  W. D. Rust,et al.  The electrical nature of storms , 1998 .

[30]  Abram R. Jacobson,et al.  How do the strongest radio pulses from thunderstorms relate to lightning flashes , 2003 .

[31]  R. Orville,et al.  A Comparison Of WSR-88D Reflectivities, SSM/I Brightness Temperatures, and Lightning for Mesoscale Convective Systems in Texas. Part I: Radar Reflectivity and Lightning , 1996 .

[32]  Jerry M. Straka,et al.  Bulk Hydrometeor Classification and Quantification Using Polarimetric Radar Data: Synthesis of Relations , 2000 .

[33]  E. Zipser,et al.  The Vertical Profile of Radar Reflectivity of Convective Cells: A Strong Indicator of Storm Intensity and Lightning Probability? , 1994 .

[34]  R. Lhermitte,et al.  Thunderstorm electrification: A case study , 1985 .

[35]  T. E. Light,et al.  Bimodal radio frequency pulse distribution of intracloud-lightning signals recorded by the FORTE satellite , 2003 .

[36]  Paul Krehbiel,et al.  A GPS‐based three‐dimensional lightning mapping system: Initial observations in central New Mexico , 1999 .

[37]  Abram R. Jacobson,et al.  Comparison of Narrow Bipolar Events with Ordinary Lightning as Proxies for Severe Convection , 2005 .

[38]  Steven J. Goodman,et al.  Three Years of TRMM Precipitation Features. Part I: Radar, Radiometric, and Lightning Characteristics , 2005 .

[39]  Kenneth L. Cummins,et al.  FORTE radio-frequency observations of lightning strokes detected by the National Lightning Detection Network , 2000 .

[40]  Abram R. Jacobson,et al.  A method for determining intracloud lightning and ionospheric heights from VLF/LF electric field records , 2004 .

[41]  B. Vonnegut.  Some Facts and Speculations Concerning the Origin and Role of Thunderstorm Electricity , 1963 .

[42]  Edward J. Zipser,et al.  A Census of Precipitation Features in the Tropics Using TRMM: Radar, Ice Scattering, and Lightning Observations , 2000 .

[43]  E. Zipser.  Deep Cumulonimbus Cloud Systems in the Tropics with and without Lightning , 1994 .

[44]  K. Eack.  Electrical characteristics of narrow bipolar events , 2004 .

[45]  Earle R. Williams,et al.  The tripole structure of thunderstorms , 1989 .

[46]  R. Orville,et al.  Changes in measured lightning flash count and return stroke peak current after the 1994 U.S. National Lightning Detection Network upgrade: 2. Theory , 1999 .

[47]  Eric C. Bruning,et al.  The Electrical Structure of Two Supercell Storms during STEPS , 2005 .

[48]  Kenneth L. Cummins,et al.  A Combined TOA/MDF Technology Upgrade of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network , 1998 .

[49]  Donald W. Burgess,et al.  Positive Cloud-to-Ground Lightning in Tornadic Storms and Hailstorms , 1994 .

[50]  Tomoo Ushio,et al.  A survey of thunderstorm flash rates compared to cloud top height using TRMM satellite data , 2001 .

[51]  Xuan-Min Shao,et al.  The Los Alamos Sferic Array: A research tool for lightning investigations , 2002 .

[52]  Abram R. Jacobson,et al.  Relationship of intracloud lightning radiofrequency power to lightning storm height, as observed by the FORTE satellite , 2003 .