4.12
Determining the distance lightning travels from a thunderstorm using ground based radar, the National Lightning Detection Network, and a 3-D lightning mapping system
Lee A. Nelson, Air Force Insititute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH; and T. M. McNamara, D. R. Vollmer, and G. R. Huffines
By integrating 3-D lightning information from the Lightning Detection and Ranging (LDAR) system at Cape Canaveral, Florida with the WSR-88D weather radar measurements, the distance that lightning travels from a thunderstorm was determined at various levels of the atmosphere. This information was segregated according to altitude of the lightning initiation point and the altitude of the extreme points in the lightning channels. Weather radar data was also used to identify the location of the cloud generating the lightning strokes. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) was also incorporated to determine if the peak current or polarity of the CG stroke was influenced by the lightning’s origin or distance from the cloud.
Session 4, Assimilation and Analysis
Tuesday, 15 January 2002, 2:00 PM-5:15 PM
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