The Analysis of Thunderstorm Electricity in the Vicinity of an Electric Field-Mill Micronetwork

A micronet (2-4 km spacing) of electric field mills was deployed within the USDA Agricultural Research Service Micronet, near Chickasha, OK, during the summer of 2000. Several thunderstorms moved across the network during the summer and fall of 2000. The data were analyzed to elicit spatial and temporal patterns in the electric field at the ground that could be related to the behavior of the storms as they passed over the network. The objectives are to try to understand storm electrification better from the point of view of ground-based networks and to try to develop improved means of early warning.