Abstract
The relationship between storm dynamics and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning characteristics in the convective region of the 10-11 June 1985 PRE-STORM (Preliminary Regional Experiment for Stormscale Operational and Research Meteorology) squall line has been examined over a period of 49 minutes. Lightning data from the National Severe Storms Laboratory lightning detection network combined with seven dual-Doppler analyses provided a unique dataset in which to study this Mesoscale Convective System (MCS). The mature phase of this system passed through the dual-Doppler analysis domain during a period when the convective region made an apparent transition to a weaker convective state. For the overall system, the peak in flash rates was shown to lag the maximum in the vertical velocity by roughly 1 0 to 20 minutes. Cross-sectional analyses revealed numerous examples of this time lag along with a coincidence of descending mid-toupper level reflectivity features and increasing CG flash rates. Along-line dynamical differences in the convective region may have contributed to significant spatial variations in the flash rate. The northern portion of the line featured stronger, more continuous updrafts along with a relative sparseness of lightning strikes. The southern section displayed weaker, but more discrete cell evolution which coincided with a rather uniform and substantial number of CG strikes.
Billingsley, David Brian (1994). Evolution of cloud-to-ground lightning characteristics within the convective region of a midlatitude squall line. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1994 -THESIS -B5983.