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Integrated Sensor Training (IST) Professional Development Series

Unit 2: Using Lightning Observations

Instructional Component 2.2


Lightning Meteorology II

Anomalous Storms and Advanced Theory

Bard Zajac, John Weaver and Dan Lindsey

with contributions from
Dan Bikos, Dolores Kiessling, Tim Alberta, Liz Page, Larry Carey, Brian Peters, Dick Orville


1) Introduction
    Lightning Meteorology II examines electrification and cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning activity in atypical thunderstorms. Atypical storms include winter storms and many severe storms. The broad objective of this teletraining course is to utilize CG lightning data in nowcasting / forecasting these storms.

    Specific course objectives are:

  • to review and be familiar with Lightning Meteorology I, the introductory course that examines typical warm season isolated storms and mesoscale convective systems.


  • to define the two main CG lightning parameters: CG flash rate and the percentage of +CGs (or percent +CGs)


  • to understand how CG flash rate and percent +CGs are affected by various configurations of electrical charge


  • to define the terms, negative strike dominated (NSD) and positive strike dominated (PSD)


  • to identify differences between warm season and cold seaon lightning and the seasonal factors that are responsible


  • to know where severe NSD storms and severe PSD storms tend to occur in the contiguous United States


  • to see why severe NSD storms often exhibit usually high and variable CG flash rates


  • to be familiar with severe PSD storms and the hypotheses used to explain these anomalous storms


2) Prerequisites, Length, and Difficulty
    Prerequisities: Lightning Meteorology I
    Length: 90 minutes
    Difficulty: advanced

    Lightning Meterorology I is a prerequisite because Ltg Met II assumes a good understanding of the concepts taught in Ltg Met I. Several concepts from Ltg Met I are examined in greater detail with little to no review.

    The instructors strongly recommend that forecasters review the audio version of Lightning Met I (see Training Session Option E below). A web-based version of Ltg Met I with embedded talking points is also available.


3) Teletraining Installation Instructions



4) Training Session Options:
    A) The interactive VISITview training session. (To be used with a VISIT instructor leading the session ). Click here to signup for teletraining. The session will last 90 minutes. This teletraining session uses the VISITview software, where Windows PC (with 128 MB RAM or greater) with an Internet connection is needed.

    B) Web-based training session - a "stand alone" version viewed via a Web browser, with embedded talking points included. This lesson version may be viewed at any time. These slides are ideal for printing from the web-browser, just print preview first to choose portrait or landscape mode. Best viewed with Internet Explorer or Netscape (prior to version 6).

    C) Web-based Visitview session - This version uses the VISITview software within a Web browser, may be viewed at any time. It retains all the functionality of the VISITview software which you see in a "live" teletraining session. The talking points are not included in this lesson version, but can be viewed in a separate Web browser (or printed out beforehand).

    D) local Visitview session - This is the same version of the lesson used in a "live" VISITview teletraining session, but no connection is made to an external VISITview server. You may download the file off this page and go through the lesson on your own in "local mode" by starting the "visitlocal.bat" file. Talking points are not included in this lesson version, but can be viewed in a separate Web browser ( or printed out beforehand).

    E.) Audio playback - This VISITview file contains recorded audio and annotations and can be taken at anytime. Certificates of completion for NOAA employees can be obtained through your Science Operation Officer or training point of contact. For detailed information on how to view the recorded session click here.

    You may either request a DVD (with all VISIT audio playback files) OR download the file (see instructions below):

    Download the audio playback file (it is about 38 MB in size) from the following site(s):

    For Windows computers: ftp://rammftp.cira.colostate.edu/bikos/audio/ltgmet2_audio.exe

    For non-Windows and Windows computers: ftp://rammftp.cira.colostate.edu/bikos/audio/ltgmet2_audio.zip

    If you have trouble downloading from the site above, you can try our mirror site:

    For Windows computers: ftp://ftp.ssec.wisc.edu/visit/audio/ltgmet2_audio.exe

    For non-Windows and Windows computers: ftp://ftp.ssec.wisc.edu/visit/audio/ltgmet2_audio.zip



5) Train the trainer
    Talking points are instructors' notes on the session organized slide-by-slide. They are intended to supplement local training at the NWS office. Talking points should be viewed in conjunction with the local VISITview session (which can be started using the 'visitlocal.bat' file).

    Talking points may also be downloaded as a Word document.

    Talking points can be printed for easy reference.


6) Information contact
7) VISIT On-Line Lightning Resources
    This web site contains a wealth of information on lightning meteorology and lightning applications.

    This web site also contains a link to Zajac et al (2002), the Severe Local Storms conference paper that summarizes this teletraining course. Zajac et al. (2002) can be downloaded as a PDF file.


8) References
    Avila, E. E., R. G. Pereyra, G. G. Aguirre Varela, and G. M. Caranti, 1999: The effect of the cloud-droplet spectrum on electrical-charge transfer during individual ice-ice collisions. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc., 125, 1669-1679.

    Byers, H. R., and R. R. Braham, Jr., 1949: The thunderstorm. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 287 pp.

    Carey, L. D., S. A. Rutledge, and W. A. Petersen, 2002: The relationship between severe storm reports and cloud-to-ground lightning polarity in the contiguous United States from 1989-98. Mon. Wea. Rev., submitted.

    Dye, J. E., J. J. Jones, W. P. Winn, T. A. Cerni, B. Gardiner, D. Lamb, R. L. Ritter, J. Hallett, and C. P. F. Saunders, 1986: Early electrification and precipitation development in a small isolated Montata cumumlonimbus. J. Geophysical Research, 91, 1231-1247.

    Foote, G. B., and H. W. Frank, 1983: Case study of a hailstorm in Colorado. Part III: Airflow from triple Doppler measurements. J. Atmos. Sci., 40, 686-707.

    Houze, R. A., Jr., S. A. Rutledge, M. I. Biggerstaff, and B. F. Smull, 1989: Interpretation of Doppler-weather radar displays of midlatitude mesoscale convective systems. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 70, 608-619.

    Kane, R. J., 1991: Correlating lightning to severe local storms in the northeastern United States. Wea. Forecasting, 6, 3-12.

    Lopez, R. E., W. D. Otto, R. Ortiz, and R. L. Holle, 1990: The lightning activity of convective cloud systems in northeastern Colorado. Preprints, 18th Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology, Orlando, FL, AMS, 727-731.

    MacGorman, D. R., D. W. Burgess, V. Mazur, W. D. Rust, W. L. Taylor, and B. C. Johnson, 1989: Lightning rates relative to tornadic storm evolution on 22 May 1981. J. Atmos. Sci., 46, 221-250.

    MacGorman, D. R., and D. W. Burgess, 1994: Positive cloud-to-ground lightning in tornadic storms and hailstorms. Mon. Wea. Rev., 122, 1671-1697.

    McDonald, J. E., 1958: The physics of cloud modification. Advanced in Geophysics, Academic Press, 5, 233-303.

    Perez, A. H., L. J. Wicker, and R. E. Orville, 1997: Characteristics of cloud-to-ground lightning associated with violent tornadoes. Wea. Forecasting, 12, 428-437.

    Petersen, W. A., L. D. Carey, S. A. Rutledge, J. C. Knievel, N. J. Doesken, R. H. Johnson, T. B. McKee, T. Vonder Haar, and J. F. Weaver, 1999: Mesoscale and radar observations of the Fort Collins Flash Flood of 28 July 1997, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 80, 191-216.

    Rodgers, R. R., and M. K. Yau, 1989: A short course in cloud physics. Pergamon, 293 pp.

    Rutledge, S. A., and D. R. MacGorman, 1998: Cloud-to-ground lightning activity in the 10-11 June 1985 mesoscale convective system observed during the Oklahoma-Kansas PRE-STORM Project. Mon. Wea. Rev., 116, 1396-1408.

    Saunders, C. P. R., 1993: A review of thunderstorm electrification processes. J. Appl. Meteor., 32, 642-655.

    Smith, S. B., J. G. LaDue, and D. R. MacGorman, 2000: The relationship between cloud-to-ground lightning polarity and surface equivalent potential temperature during three tornadic outbreaks. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 3320-3328.

    Takahashi, T., 1978: Riming electrification as a charge generation mechanism in thunderstorms. J. Atmos. Sci., 35, 1536-1548.

    Wallace, J. M., and P. V. Hobbs, 1977: Atmospheric science: An introductory survey. Academic Press, 467 pp.

    Williams, E. R., 2001: The electrification of severe storms. Severe Convective Storms, AMS Meteor. Monogr. Series, 27, 570 pp.

    Zajac, B. A., and S. A. Rutledge, 2001Cloud-to-ground lightning activity in the contiguous United States from 1995 to 1999. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129, 999-1019.

    Zajac, B. A., and J. F. Weaver, 2002 : An introductory course on forecasting with lightning data. Preprints, Symposium on the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), Orlando, FL, AMS.



7) Content developed/updated
    Developed: 2002
    Updated: 2004