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Characteristics of the two active stages of lightning activity in two hailstorms

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Abstract

Two hailstorms that occurred in Beijing and Tianjin, respectively, are investigated, based mainly on the total lightning data observed by the System d’Alerte Fondre par Interferometric Radioelecctrique (SAFIR3000), the cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data of a CG lightning location system, and the echo data of a Doppler radar. Both hailstorms exhibited two lightning frequency peaks: the first was before the hailfall and the second was after the hailfall, with the second peak greater than the first. The dominant polarity of the CG lightning was positive in the stage around the first frequency peak, but changed to negative in the stage around the second frequency peak. The evolution of radar echoes and the height distribution of lightning radiation sources are explored, revealing that both hailstorms had stronger convection and the main positive charge occurred at mid levels during the stage around the first frequency peak. However, whilst the Beijing hailstorm experienced the enhancement of convection, with the main positive charge at upper levels around the second frequency peak, the Tianjin hailstorm generated its second frequency peak during the period when the convection kept weakening and the main positive charge dropped to mid–lower levels. Through evaluation of the radar parameters, we investigate the mechanisms responsible for the second stage of active lightning discharge. Furthermore, the lightning activity exhibited a close relationship with radar echo parameters and hailfall. Lightning jump signals were found before the hailfall and were associated with the change ratio of the 40-dBZ echo volume above the −15°C level, which demonstrates the application value of lightning data in severe weather warning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Atmospheric Science, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Shuang Xu  (徐爽) & Yongqing Wang  (王咏青)

  2. State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Dong Zheng  (郑栋)

  3. Liaoning Meteorological Disaster Monitoring and Early Warning Center, Shenyang, 110166, China

    Pengyu Hu  (胡鹏宇)

  4. Shenyang Meteorological Administration, Shenyang, 110168, China

    Shuang Xu  (徐爽)

Authors
  1. Shuang Xu  (徐爽)
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  2. Dong Zheng  (郑栋)
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  3. Yongqing Wang  (王咏青)
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  4. Pengyu Hu  (胡鹏宇)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yongqing Wang  (王咏青).

Additional information

Supported by the National (Key) Basic Research and Development (973) Program of China (2014CB441402), Basic Research Project of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (2014R017 and 2013Z006), Key Laboratory Open Project of Disasters Research (2014LASW-B08), and Natural Science Research for Jiangsu Provincial Higher Education Colleges (14KJA170005).

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Xu, S., Zheng, D., Wang, Y. et al. Characteristics of the two active stages of lightning activity in two hailstorms. J Meteorol Res 30, 265–281 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-016-5074-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-016-5074-6

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