4.4
The relationship between total lightning, ice mass, liquid water mass and convective rainfall
Wiebke Deierling, NCAR, Boulder, CO; and W. A. Petersen and S. Ellis
This study investigates the relationship between ice mass, liquid water mass, convective rainfall amounts and total lightning activity for a number of storms occurring in the High Plains and in Northern Alabama. Polarimetric radar data is used to compute rainfall amounts, ice mass and liquid water mass on a storm scale. Total lightning data is available from ground based lightning mapping systems. Total lightning activity has been shown to be closely related to graupel and ice crystal mass and their fluxes in convection. Therefore it may be possible to use radar data in conjunction with total lightning data to estimate the portions of liquid water content or convective rainfall that originate from cold rain versus warm rain processes. This would be useful for climatological and microphysical studies that need information about warm and cold rain processes in order to determine their role in the water cycle. Preliminary results are encouraging and will be presented.
Session 4, Lightning and Electrical Processes in Convective to Mesoscale Storms
Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 3:30 PM-5:45 PM, 222
Previous paper Next paper